Learning to Live
by Suzuran-san
Summary: Sasuke has been in the dark for many years. He finds himself falling deeper into the darkness. His heart is cold and he knows he will never be the same again. Can his teammates free him from this dark path? SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello . This is the first time I've EVER posted a story online. I've been reading stories from this site for years and decided I should write something. I'm a big fan of Naruto and I especially like the pairing of Sasuke and Sakura. So this is my story. Hope you like it.

**Desclaimer: **I do no own Naruto or any of it's characters.

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 1

The entire area was a war zone. Almost every square inch was covered in dead bodies. Thankfully, most of those bodies were of the many Zetsu clones. Some of the bodies were of the shinobi fighting for the Great Nations.

It had been a month since the Fourth Great Ninja War started between the Akatsuki and the joint army of the five Great Nations. Not much has changed. By day, shinobi would fight and sacrifice their lives for their nations. By night, many would rest, get treated from a wound they received, or they would stay up plotting a battle strategy to defeat the enemy.

Currently, Haruno Sakura found herself on the battlefield. She had spent all morning in the medical tent treating the injured. It wasn't until noon she was called out on the battlefield to assist a squad that has been fighting the same enemy for hours. It was hard enough to deal with enemies that were alive, but to fight the dead? The thought made her cringe. These people had past on, breaking their ties with the living world.

Sakura once again found herself fighting the previous Akatsuki member, Sasori. She thought she and the Sand elder, Chiyo-baasama had gotten rid of the puppet master for good. Apparently, she had been mistaken for he's here fighting her. This time, however, she wasn't alone. Many other shinobi were fighting off over a hundred puppets.

Being buried six feet under hasn't made him or his puppets rusty. Sakura found herself punching, kicking, and dodging numerous puppets. No matter how many puppets she gets rid of, there seems to be more and more. She shouldn't be surprised. He is an Akatsuki member after all. Her chakra level was running low and it didn't help that she used most of it to heal the injured earlier that day.

She just managed to crush two puppets with her inhuman strength before she had to dodge a puppet that had numerous weapons in hand. The pink haired kunoichi cursed under her breath. This was getting ridiculous. She's been doing the exact same thing for the past hour and a half.

As she dodged another puppet, one managed to grab both of her arms. She tried to kick her way free, but another puppet grabbed both of her legs. She struggled to get out of its grip but her attempt was futile. She had lost too much chakra and her strength was fading. Right as she thought things couldn't get any worse, another puppet was heading towards her from the front with a sharp dagger in hand. Worry ceased her and she clamped her eyes shut, waiting for the impact.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

But it never came.

Sakura opened her eyes just in time to see Rock Lee destroy the puppet that was heading towards her.

"Lee-san!" exclaimed Sakura. "What are you doing here?"

"I have been ordered by Kakashi-sensie to come and assist you." he replied.

It's been a few days since Sakura saw Kakashi, Lee, or anyone that was familiar. Her team had been sent to be a backup team for a different squad. She would have gone, but Kakashi told her to stay and take care of the injured here.

"Thanks Lee-san. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't showed up."

"It is an honor to protect the beautiful Sakura-san!" he exclaimed.

She didn't know why Lee was always so nice to her. She knows how he feels but she doesn't deserve his kindness. After all, he already knew she couldn't return his feelings. Everyone already knew how she felt about Sasuke. But after their last encounter, she was lost and confused. She had tried to kill him by stabbing him with a poisoned kunai. She thought she was strong enough to kill him, but she couldn't bring herself to do the task. In return, he tried to kill her too. The only difference is that he would have done it if Naruto hadn't showed up at the right time. The thought made her sad.

"Sakura-san, look out!" Lee hollered.

She was so deep in thought she hadn't realize she was still fighting Sasori and his puppets. She turned around just in time to crush the puppet that was heading for her. She jumped behind a large bolder next to Lee for shelter.

"Are you alright Sakura-san?" Lee asked.

"I'm fine but my chakra is running low. We need to defeat him, but I'm not sure how. Based on the reports I got a month ago, there's no way to kill them. Not even killing the wielder of the jutsu will get rid of them."

"I have been informed by Kakashi-sensie that emotions are their weakness."

"Emotions?" Sakura asked quizzically.

"Hai. If they are reminded of an important figure in their past lives, then it is assumed they will break free from the jutsu." Lee answered.

Sakura thought about it for a second. She fought Sasori before, so she should know what his weakness is.

_"Think, Sakura, think!" _she thought to herself.

"It seems like he has favored those two puppets over there." stated Lee.

Sakura looked over to what he was talking about and saw two puppets dressed in white. Although they had many weapons in them, Sasori continued to use them to block any attacks. They stayed close to Sasori at all times, protecting him from any assault.

"That's it!" she exclaimed.

"Sakura-san?"

She ignored Lee as she thought about it. Sasori's strongest attachments were towards his parents. She remembered what the elder, Chiyo-baasama, had told her. Sasori's first puppets were of his parent. She was about to tell Lee when a sudden wave of powerful chakra hit her. It made her nauseous. She looked at Lee and saw that the ninja clad in green had a look of fear on his face. He had felt it too. Sakura looked around to see if anyone else felt it. To her surprise, the battle had stopped and Sasori was retreating.

That was a good sign for now. But that chakra has left her feeling sick, like it was evil. The worst part of it was that she knew this chakra. She felt it many times before. It was the nine-tail fox's chakra. That meant Naruto was somewhere nearby and was clearly in danger.

Sakura froze. She hadn't seen Naruto in six weeks and now she had felt the nine-tail fox's chakra. She couldn't stop herself as her feet began to move until she was in a full out sprint. She heard Lee call after her, but she didn't stop. She headed towards the thick forest and started hopping though the trees. Her mind was blank. She only had one goal in mind and that was to save Naruto before he got out of control

She ran towards the direction of the fox's chakra and towards her teammate.

* * *

Kakashi looked at the scene before him. Naruto was currently enveloped in the nine-tail fox's chakra. He had lost control and was already forming a third tail. There's no way to stop this. Naruto shouldn't have known about the war in the first place.

The eight-tails jinchuuriki had tried to stop him, but Naruto was too stubborn.

Kakashi was amazed that they could hide something this big from someone like Naruto for so long. Then again, it _was_ Naruto and he can be completely clueless sometimes. But after a while, things started to get suspicious and the nine-tails jinchuuriki was determined to find out. He was inside the shell of the giant turtle for quite some time before he decided he had had enough.

From there, everything went downhill. Naruto soon found out about the war and once he reached land, he took off. No one could stop him as he searched for answers. Eventually, Naruto ran into Kakashi and demanded to find out what exactly was going one.

Kakashi was surprised to see his student in front of him demanding answers. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Naruto wasn't supposed to be here and he definitely wasn't supposed to find out about the war. It seemed like he had no choice whatsoever but to explain everything to hyper-active ninja before him. He would have found out sooner or later anyway.

So Kakashi explained everything to his pupil while heading towards his destination. He and his team had been called up as a backup team. He would have got there sooner if he hadn't run into Naruto. Said boy was furious after learning the truth about the war.

Kakashi didn't really know what to do with Naruto. He had told the boy everything and he knew he was angry. Things only got worst as his team, along with Naruto now, arrived at their destination. There was fighting all over the place. It was a true war zone. But that's not where it gets bad. Standing on the other side of the war zone was Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke.

At that point, Naruto flipped. The boy he has been chasing after for so many years was standing next to his enemy. Not just his enemy, but the world's enemy. He had charged towards Sasuke shouting out profanities at the boy. They immediately started to battle each other.

To say he was surprised would have been a lie. Kakashi had expected Sasuke to be with Madara. But a month has passed and the copy-nin had not seen Sasuke or Madara since the war had started. He couldn't go after Naruto or Sasuke since he was called here to assist the other team. Many were fighting off the Zetsu clones and were having a hard time since there was an endless amount.

The next thing that happened made everyone terrified with fear. Naruto's seal had broken and the nine-tails had come out.

That brings us back to the present. Kakashi watched as his two students fight to kill each other. Naruto was starting to form a fourth tail and he didn't know what to do. He couldn't get close to Naruto, because he would end up killing himself.

Naruto had formed the Shuriken-Rasengan and was heading towards Sasuke. Said boy had an enormous Chidori formed in his left hand. As Sasuke ran towards Naruto, Kakashi panicked. When those two collided, they will liberate the entire area.

Everyone saw the attack and tired to find cover from it. Even Madara moved away. He had been entertained by watching the two teens fight. His plan was working out the way he wanted it to.

As Sasuke and Naruto came in contact, the two jutsus touched and collided with each other. An enormous amount of power was formed that turned the area around them black. Five seconds after the two ninjas had collided, an explosion went off. A shock wave had been sent all around them for the next two miles radius, destroying everything.

* * *

Sakura had been running non-stop for thirty minutes. The nine-tailed fox's chakra was getting closer and she could feel the enormous power getting stronger. It almost felt constricting. None of that mattered to her. All she wanted to do was get to Naruto before he lost complete control of himself. She already lost one teammate; she couldn't afford to lose another.

She was now three kilometers away from her destination when she saw a huge explosion go off. A few seconds later, she was hit with a huge shock of power. She quickened her pace. Her chakra was still low but she didn't care. She had only one goal in mind.

The pink haired kunoichi was too absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice a group of signatures approaching her. As Sakura jumped to another branch, three figures jumped in front of her making her halt immediately. The action caused her to lose her footing and she now found herself falling to the forest floor. She quickly regained herself and tried to grab a branch. She focused chakra to her hands and reached for the closest branch near her. Her hand made contact with a rough surface before her shoulder was nearly yanked out of their sockets and she stopped falling. From there she slowly made her way down to the forest floor.

Once again, three figures appeared in front of her. However, this time she didn't need to worry. She knew who they were.

"Geez, forehead! You nearly gave me a heart attack." Ino exclaimed. She gave her childhood rival and friend a bemused look before she flipped her long hair over her shoulder.

"I gave you a heart attack? You're the one that magically appeared in front of me making me lose my balance!" Sakura replied with an annoyed tone.

"Your giant forehead probably made you lose your balance, not me." the blonde retorted.

Sakura ignored the rude comment. She had better things to deal with than fight with Ino. "What do you want, pig?"

Before Ino had a chance to snap at the old nickname, Shikamaru spoke for the first time since he arrived. "We sensed your chakra and figured you were heading in the same direction as that explosion." he drawled out with an exasperated tone.

"I'm guessing you sensed the nine-tail's chakra too." she replied.

"It's hard to miss." answered the lazy genius.

"Naruto's in danger. We have to hurry!" Sakura was getting extremely worried. Even the lazy genius and his team felt Naruto's power.

"Sakura, maybe we should rest first. I can tell your chakra is low. Plus I'm exhausted!" remarked Chouji for the first time.

"I'll be fine. We need to get to Naruto." Sakura insisted.

"Calm down, forehead. I'm sure Naruto will be fine. Kakashi-sensie is probably taking care of it right now."

"Chouji and Ino are right. There's no point rushing. We'll only put ourselves in danger if we go there immediately." Shikamaru stated.

"I. . ." Sakura didn't know what to say. They did have a point. What would she do once she got there? The last time she got hurt just being around the fox's chakra. There's nothing she could do to save Naruto. That thought alone made her sigh in defeat. "Fine. Let's rest for a bit."

* * *

Ten minutes had past and the team was getting ready to leave. Sakura couldn't wait any longer. Naruto was in danger and here she was, doing absolutely nothing. She agreed to rest with Shikamaru's team, but too much time has passed. She managed to regain most of her chakra, but not all. That was good enough, as long as she doesn't get into a battle on the way.

"Is everyone ready?" Shikamaru asked the team.

"Hai!" came the simultaneous reply from the other members.

No sooner did the team utter that word, a kunai came flying through the trees only to land three feet in front of them.

Sakura cursed under her breath. Of course something would prevent her from going to her teammate.

A dark figure in the trees stepped out from the shadows. "You four won't be going anywhere-uh."

Surprise, surprise. It was another dead Akatsuki member. He had blonde hair tied in a side ponytail. His eyes were wide and looked as if they would pop out any time soon. Sakura recognized him as Sasori's partner, Deidara.

"Sakura, go! We'll hold him off." Shikamaru stated.

The kunoichi was surprised. But she didn't hesitate for another second before she turned to leave.

"Be careful." She said before she disappeared in the trees above them.

She was so close to her destination. She applied chakra to her fight and sped off to her teammate. The medic-nin had a bad feeling something was wrong and she didn't like it at all. Ever since she felt the shock wave from that explosion, she's been constantly worrying.

She was almost there. The forest was thinning out and she could see the opening ahead.

"_Naruto, please be okay."_ She thought.

As Sakura came through the clearing, she nearly fell over in shock. She wasn't expecting the sight in front of her. The entire area was destroyed. Even the terrain was uneven with all the boulders and rocks. Numerous shinobi were fighting the Zetsu clones.

But that's not what she noticed the most. In the middle of the battlefield was Naruto in nine-tails mode, falling unconscious. Standing in front of him was Sasuke.

* * *

**A/N: **Well that's the first chapter. Tell me what you think of it. I'm not sure if I should continue or not. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey there! This is the second chapter. I decided to continue with the story. Hopefully it's as good as I see it in my head. It might seem slow, but lots of details need to be written first. I dont like fanfics where people get to the point without any development. So, if you continue to read this, please be patient and follow along. Things will get better in the future. It _is_ a SasuSaku fic, after all!

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 2

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto with a blank expression. He was staring at the nine-tails jinchuuriki with an intense look in his blood red eyes. He soon realized he was in Naruto's mind. Just like last time, he was standing in a dark chamber of some sorts. It was cold and murky, but he didn't mind. Living with Orochimaru was the same as being here.

He hadn't intended to fight with Naruto. It really shouldn't have been a surprise when the blonde attacked him. Naruto has been chasing him for years, after all.

"_Idiot."_ Sasuke thought.

Their fight hadn't lasted very long. Naruto managed to break his seal almost right away. As they continued to fight, the blonde got more agitated and determined. Sasuke tried to stop the fight before it got out of hand. He didn't really want to fight. His eyes were still adjusting since Itachi's eyes have been implanted into his sockets.

After a month of resting his eyes, he thought he was ready to use them. They were still sensitive and if Naruto hadn't drove him to activate the sharingan, then he wouldn't be in this situation.

He eventually found Naruto in front of the large cage that kept the nine-tail demon fox sealed inside. Chakra was flowing out and Naruto appeared to be talking to the fox. As Sasuke walked closer, he could see the tattered seal on the cage. It was torn and looked as if it was about to fall off any moment right now.

"**Uchiha Sasuke." Stated the demon.**

Naruto whipped around to face his long time rival and friend. "Sasuke", Naruto stated in a soft voice.

The two looked at each other for a long time. No words were uttered between the two for a long while. For Sasuke, he didn't have much to say. He's always quiet and he likes it better that way. But for Naruto to stay quiet was unusual. Every time Sasuke saw the knuckle-headed ninja, he would shout out to him and fight for him to go back with him to the place he used to call home.

As he looked at Naruto closely, he could see pain and anger in the blonde's eyes.

"Why are you doing this Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Doing what?" replied the missing-nin.

"Why the hell are you helping that bastard?" exclaimed Naruto. "Can't you see that he's using you? You're only helping him destroy the world."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He was starting to get annoyed by Naruto and his pointless questions. He would never understand. He had one goal left and if he has to make a deal with the devil, then that's fine with him. He had made a foolish mistake by not learning the truth sooner.

When Sasuke didn't answer, Naruto continued, "How is doing any of this going to help _you_? You already killed Itachi. Why can't you just come home to Konoha?"

"Home?" he asked vehemently. "Konoha will never be my home. They took my family away from me. The council _ordered_ my brother to kill his entire clan." He paused for a moment. "He was a fool for leaving me alive." He added quietly.

Naruto stared at Sasuke with a shocked expression on his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did the council really order the massacre of the Uchihas? And Itachi. He had killed his own blood by an order? By a mission? The thought was sickening.

"Sasuke", Naruto started, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything else.

"You'll never understand, Naruto. I swear I will destroy Konoha and everyone in it to avenge my family. I'm not going to let Itachi's death be in vain." The Uchiha stated coldly.

"No!" shouted the blonde. "I know the council is corrupt for doing that, but you can't destroy Konoha. The people of the village have nothing to do with your clan. You're only a tool to Madara! He's using you for his own selfish reasons. You don't think he'll kill you too once this is all over?" he finished.

Sasuke thought about it for a while. He hadn't thought what would happen after everything have ended. Konoha was his main target and he swore to destroy the cursed village. He never thought about having a life after his goals were complete. That wasn't an option right now in his life. He was driven by anger and vengeance. But Naruto had said something that made him upset. Madara was only using him as a tool. So far, he had believed everything the older Uchiha told him. Maybe all of that was a lie? Why would his own blood deceive him?

"Madara hasn't lied to me yet, why would he deceive me?" Sasuke finally answered.

Naruto was furious! How can the Uchiha be so stupid and ignorant? He was about to retort and argue for his friend, but he never got a chance to.

"**Don't be a fool boy." **Stated the demon fox. He had the most sinister sneer on his face. **"Uchiha Madara is the most deceitful man on the planet. Who do you think awakened me upon that wretched village years ago?" **he stated with a hateful tone.

Naruto couldn't believe it. Not only is Madara ruining Sasuke's life, but he had destroyed his own as well. He was the reason the nine-tail demon fox was sealed inside of him. The reason his father and mother died.

"You bastard!" Shouted the jinchuuriki.

"**Kukukuku"**,sneered the demon. **"I guess Kushina failed to tell you the smaller details of that night."**

Naruto made a growling sound at the back of his throat. He was beyond furious. He quickly turned around to face Sasuke. "Sasuke!" he stated suddenly. "I'll help you get rid of the council if you can help me defeat Madara now." He finished strongly.

The sharingan wielder looked at the blonde. His eyes shone brightly with determination. He wasn't sure if he could take up his offer. "How would you help me?" he asked.

"I'll do anything, I don't care. I'll talk to the Hokage. I promise I won't give up on you. You're my best friend and I'll do anything to make sure you don't suffer anymore. I know how you feel. Madara is the reason my parents were killed. He's the reason I suffered through my childhood. But then I met you and Iruka-sensie, Kakashi-sensie, and Sakura-chan. You all helped me get through. Now it's my turn to help you. We're all here for you. Me, Kakashi-sensie, and Sakura-chan will stay by you no matter what." He finished. He looked at Sasuke to see the expression on his face. He wanted to see if he got through the youngest Uchiha.

Sasuke didn't know what to think. Should he believe Naruto? Will he really help him defeat the council? How was he supposed to go back to Konoha? The first thing they'll do is arrest him. Then again, Madara will probably kill him once this war was over. He didn't really understand the point of this war in the first place. He had to make a decision and he wasn't sure which one was the right one.

He looked at Naruto to see what his expression was. Determination. That's what it looked like. The idiot always had that look on his face. Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he looked at his rival straight in the eyes. "Fine." He said. "I'll help you."

Naruto's eyes lit up at that and he couldn't help but grin.

"**Foolish boy! You are making a big mistake. You'll regret-"**

"Shut the hell up!" Snapped the fox's host. He turned to Sasuke. "We need to make a plan!"

Sasuke sighed. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He still didn't know how this was supposed to help him. But the look on Naruto's face told him that the boy was determined to help him with his goals. He would go along with it for now.

* * *

Sakura watched in horror as Naruto lay on the ground. His body was weak and Sasuke stood with a straight back in front of him. He had an intense look on his face. Even more so with the sharingan activated. Sakura wanted to rush over to Naruto to help and just when she was about to start running, a hand blocked her path. She looked over to the side and saw her sensie extending his hand in front of her, looking ahead towards the two boys in the center of the field.

"Kakashi-sensie." She said quietly.

"Don't interfere. This is a problem between Naruto and Sasuke." He stated monotonously, removing his arm from in front of her.

"But we have to help Naruto! He's hurt. How can we just leave him?" protested the pink haired girl.

"He'll be fine. Just let him be."

"What are they doing? Why is Sasuke just standing there?"

"I don't know. We have more important things to worry about right now. Madara's army is starting to attack again. They were unmoving for a few moments after the explosion. We have many that are injured and need to be taken care of right now."

She finally turned to the copy-nin. She didn't want to do her job now. All she wanted to do was help her teammate. Both of her teammates. She wanted to know if Naruto was alright and weather or not he was seriously injured of not. As for Sasuke, she didn't know what to think. She felt so many different emotions just looking at him. She was angry and hurt that he had tried to kill her and Naruto before. But she also wanted to bring him home to Konoha, where he belonged. She might be confused of how she felt about the dark haired boy, but she knew she still cared for him in some way. He was her teammate, after all.

"Okay, I'll treat the wounded." She said in a small voice. She turned and rushed over to the other side of the field to heal any injured shinobi she came across.

As Sakura ran across the battlefield, she saw many that were already dead. She looked away and decided to keep going to find someone that needed her help.

"Sakura-san!" cried a ninja, ten meters away from her. He looked like he had just seen a ghost, judging from the expression on his face. His face was pale and he looked exhausted.

"What is it?" asked the medic-nin?

"We have many injured shinobi at the base camp we set up in the forest." He paused as he ran up next to her. "Please hurry. We need your help!" he pleaded.

She didn't need him to tell her twice. She soon kicked into medic mode and started to follow the man towards the base camp that had been set up.

The camp wasn't too far from the battlefield she had just arrived from. It was half a kilometer away. That was relatively close than usual.

"_This was probably a last minute thing."_ She thought as she entered the camp. She could still hear all the battle cries and fighting taking place half a kilometer away.

She quickly rushed over to the big tent that had been set up in the center of the camp. As she stepped inside, many medics were frantically running around treating the wounded. She headed over to a man that was bleeding terribly. He had suffered a fatal blow to his shoulder by kunai. The wound was fairly large and blood was gushing out like a river.

She quickly applied chakra to her hands and placed it against the opening of the wound. Her chakra started flowing inside of his shoulder, repairing torn tissues and stopping the blood loss. It wasn't completely closed, but she knew he would last a while longer until other medics bandage him up. She had to save her chakra to heal others that had worse cases.

After applying chakra to many wounds and broken bones, Sakura was aggravated. They seem to be losing after counting the endless amount of injured ninjas that were coming in. After she finished healing one, another group of medics would rush into the tent with a wounded ninja on a stretcher. She didn't like this at all. She liked healing people, but she shouldn't be here right now. She should be out on the field fighting for her village, and her joint Shinobi Army.

She had just finished healing a man with six broken ribs when a group of medics ran in with a large boy on a stretcher. Sakura rushed over and pushed through the crowd to heal the boy. She was shocked to see it was Chouji on the stretcher. She automatically knelt down and started to check him over. He had internal bleeding and a severe wound on his left leg.

"I need you two to heal the wound on his leg. I'll deal with the internal bleeding." Sakura demanded. She was now worried. The last time she saw Chouji, he was with Ino and Shikamaru, fighting off the blonde haired Akatsuki member, Deidara.

Now she wanted to know what happened to Ino and Shikamaru. So many questions were floating through her head while she fought to heal Chouji. Were his teammates alright? Were they injured too? What happened to Deidara? Did they defeat him?

After fifteen minutes of treating Chouji, Sakura decided he was good for now. She managed to stop the internal bleeding and the medics were bandaging the wound in his left leg.

The kunoichi stepped out of the tent for some fresh air, but that was forgotten when she laid her eyes on the pair that was sitting on a log on the other side of camp. She quickly walked over to them.

"Sakura!" Ino greeted the pink haired girl. "How's Chouji? Is he alright?" the blonde asked worriedly.

Sakura felt relieved to see them. At least now she knew they were okay. They must have defeated Deidara. Realizing she hadn't answered Ino's question, she turned to the blonde hair girl and answered, "Yeah, he's fine. He had some internal bleeding but I managed to stop it. The wound on his left leg is being bandaged up right now. You can go see him if you want, but he's resting."

"That's fine. We'll let him rest for now. I'm just glad he's fine." Shikamaru spoke for the first time.

"Yeah, forehead! Thanks for healing Chouji." Ino said in a relieved tone.

"What happened to Deidara?"

"We almost defeated him, but he managed to escape. Chouji tired to stop him, but he got injured while doing that. We decided to come over here, hoping to find a camp where someone can heal him." Shikamaru explained.

So Deidara managed to get away. That didn't really surprise Sakura. That's what most of them were good at, running away. "You guys should rest for a while with Chouji inside." She told them casually.

"What are you going to do?" Ino asked.

"I'm going to go find Kakashi-sensie. I ran into him earlier, but he told me to come here. He wouldn't even let me help Naruto." The medic-nin said in an angry tone.

"Really? What happened to Naruto? Is he okay?" Ino asked her childhood friend.

"He and Sasuke fought each other and when I finally got to them, Kakashi-sensie told me to leave them alone. I was mad, because Naruto was going down and I couldn't do anything about it."

"Wait a minute! You saw Sasuke?" Ino shouted. "What happened? Are they still fighting? Is Sasuke still hot?"

Sakura looked at Ino in disbelief. Of course Ino would ask a million questions about the younger Uchiha brother. She probably still had a thing for the boy too. Sakura always thought Ino would turn to Shikamaru. Said boy was just sitting there ignoring the two Kunoichi.

"I don't know what happened, Ino." Sakura replied. "I never got a chance to find out myself."

Ino gave her a suspicious look before turning to her lazy teammate. "What do you think about this, Shikamaru?"

"I don't know. It's not really my problem. I already tried to help out with Sasuke, but that didn't really turn out too well." He drawled out.

"I'm going to leave now and see if I can find Kakashi-sensie. You guys should go and see Chouji now. He might be awake still. Ino, help out around the camp if you can. The medics need all the help they can get", Said the pink haired medic. She turned around and left before Ino or Shikamaru could say a single word to her.

She headed in the direction of the battlefield she had come from. She could have stayed at the camp and helped out, along with Ino, but finding her teammates were more important at the moment. She was almost near the battlefield since the clinking of weapons and battle cries grew louder in her ears. She burst through the trees and saw many Zetsu clones fighting with a large amount of shinobi.

"_I guess more backup was called", _she thought as she looked across the battlefield, scanning for anyone that was familiar.

Sasuke and Naruto were gone and she couldn't even find her teacher. She muttered an unladylike word under her breath before she started running. Where the hell were they? How can three people disappear just like that? As she ran, she focused her chakra and tried to concentrate without getting into a battle or getting hit by the numerous weapons that were flying around her.

She was at the edge of the clearing when she picked up sign of Naruto's chakra. Well, it was more like the demon fox's chakra. He must have lost control again. She quickened her pace as she followed the signature, jumping through the trees. They weren't too far away.

She could feel the enormous amount of power growing. She knew was close. She could see that the forest was thinning out and she was going into another clearing. As she jumped out of the trees, she landed softly on the ground and looked around. The scenery had a dramatic change. Instead of leaves and trees, the area was completely rocky and uneven.

No one was in sight, but she could still feel a huge amount of power. She quickly walked across the rocky terrain to the hill on the other side. After climbing the hill, she could finally see what took place, and it wasn't very pleasant.

Black flames. That's what she saw. Black flames covered the land and in the middle of that chaos were Sasuke, Naruto, and Madara. This time however, Sasuke was standing next to Naruto instead of Madara.

Sakura watched carefully as both Naruto and Sasuke formed their most famous techniques. She could distinctively hear the high chirping sound of the Chidori and the Rasengan-Shuriken. Both teens charged towards the older Uchiha in what was an obvious attack. Madara on the other hand, stood still. And as Sakura watched closely, she could see that he was stuck in his spot. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't move an inch.

Both techniques hit the older man both in the heart and abdomen. Being, a medic, Sakura knew how fatal those blows were. He should die instantly.

She continued to watch in amazement as Uchiha Madara fell onto his back. His mask cracked in half revealing his face. He definitely didn't look as old as he was supposed to be. From this point of view, the kunoichi couldn't determine if he was dead or not.

If he was dead, then the war would be over. With that thought in mind, Sakura raced down the hill towards Naruto and Sasuke.

* * *

**A/N: **Alrighty! That is the second chapter. Tell me what you think. And feel free to point out any mistakes you notice. It will help me a lot! Please Review! It will make me really happy to get some feedback.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hello again! Sorry for taking so long to upload this story. I've been really busy with school and now its getting harder now that I have final exams to worry about. But summer's coming soon and I hope to do a lot of writing during my break since I probably wont being doing anything :p Anyways, here's the new chapter of Learning to Live. ENJOY! :)

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 3

Naruto and Sasuke stood over the fallen body of Uchiha Madara. They had just delivered their most powerful blows to the older Uchiha. Naruto had managed to hit him in his abdomen and Sasuke landed a furious Chidori to the man's heart. Madara's body had gone limp and he soon fell to the hard, earthy floor.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and gave the dark haired boy a wide grin. They finally did it. They both managed to defeat Madara. The blonde was full of joy as he looked at his long lost teammate. He wasn't sure if he would ever get through to Sasuke, but he never gave up on trying. That's what matter the most.

"We did it Teme" the blonde boy said to Sasuke.

Sasuke gave Naruto a face telling him he disapproved of the old nickname. He didn't want to think about anything right now. Madara was dead. He had just killed one of the last Uchiha, with the help of Naruto. He was now truly the last Uchiha. If he died, then the Uchiha would cease to exist. Sasuke couldn't let that happen yet. He still had to get rid of the council. And he wasn't sure how long it would take Naruto to help him. Sasuke really hope he doesn't regret trusting the blonde.

Sasuke looked at Naruto grinning like a fool. How on earth did he manage to look so carefree and happy? They were still in the middle of a war. Sasuke was about to tell the jinchuuriki to stop smiling, but he never got a chance to.

Naruto suddenly felt a shock run through his entire body. His eyes widen and his body froze in place. The next thing he knew, his body was falling and the edges of his vision was getting darker. He saw Sasuke tense up before he hit the ground. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw a figure running in the distance.

"NARUTO!"

"_Sakura-chan…"_ that was the Kyuubi host's last thought before he fell unconscious.

* * *

Sasuke saw Naruto's body fall, but he couldn't do anything. He just stood there as he watched the blonde hit the floor. His body was frozen. Naruto had been fine just a minute ago and now he was unconscious on the hard earthy floor.

As he was about to walk over to the jinchuuriki, he heard someone shout Naruto's name. He turned around just in time to see his ex-teammate run past him, towards the fallen Naruto. It didn't occur to Sasuke that Sakura was there in front of him, healing Naruto. He didn't even know the pink haired kunoichi was fighting in the war. He always thought she would stay in the Hidden Leaf and deal with things there. Obviously, he was wrong.

Sakura quickly turned around and gave the Uchiha a serious look. "What happened?" she asked in a hard voice.

Sasuke didn't realize Sakura was addressing him until a few seconds had passed. "He fell unconscious", he replied with a blank tone.

Sakura gave him a cold look before turning back to Naruto. She applied more pressure to his right arm, where most of the damage was centered around. His heart had been beating rapidly when she first checked him. It managed to calm down by now, but his body was still in shock from the extreme jutsu he had performed.

Sasuke gave a quizzical look. He never experienced coldness from the kunoichi before. He watched as she continued to heal Naruto. The blonde boy didn't look too good at this point. Maybe he should do something?

Just as that thought was running through his head, he felt a familiar presence and a strange one approaching from behind. He turned to see Kakashi and the ninja that had been his replacement. Sasuke's expression hardened as the duo arrived at the scene.

"Seems like Madara has been defeated", the copy-nin stated nonchalantly. His eye swept over the body of the older Uchiha before looking straight up at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back with a blank expression. The air felt heavy and tense.

"What happened here?" Kakashi asked calmly. He then shifted his gaze from Sasuke to Naruto and Sakura.

"Naruto and Sasuke took out Madara together. Then Naruto fell unconscious. He used his Rasengan-Shuriken. The extreme chakra usage caused his body to experience muscle spasms. His heart was also beating rapidly to the point where he couldn't take it" Sakura answered.

"Will he be alright?" asked her sensei.

"I managed to calm his heart down and ease some on the spasms. But he'll get better if he rests in one of the medical tents", Stated the kunoichi.

"I can get him back quickly", Sai said for the first time.

Sai painted a large bird on his scroll and used his chakra to activate his jutsu. A large bird appeared from a puff of smoke in front of the group. Sakura carefully lifted Naruto's body onto the giant bird, next to Sai. Said boy carefully adjusted the blonde's body, so it wouldn't fall of the animal while in the air.

"I can only fit two people on here including myself." The pale boy stated monotonously.

"It's fine. I'll follow you from the ground back to the base camp a kilometer away." Sakura replied.

Sai nodded his head and lifted off of the ground. Soon enough, he and Naruto were soaring through the sky towards the base camp Sakura had mentioned about.

The pink haired kunoichi turned toward her sensie, "I'll go back to the camp and finish healing Naruto and the other injured shinobi. What do you plan to do with that body?"

Kakashi looked at the body of the fallen Uchiha whose body was still lying on the ground, untouched. "I'll take care of it. Just take care of Naruto for now."

With that said, Sakura took off in the direction Sai headed.

The area was now silent with two remaining shinobi standing. Some of the earlier tension had disappeared, but the air still feels heavy and disturbed. Kakashi finally turned to Sasuke and gave him a serious look. "What do you plan to do now?"

Sasuke had been standing in the same spot, unmoving during the whole exchange between Kakashi and the other two that had left. He hadn't said a word since the copy-nin arrived. He still wasn't sure if he should speak now, even though Kakashi had addressed him. How was he supposed to even answer that question? He couldn't really tell his old sensie that he planned on taking out the council members of the Leaf with the help of the blonde idiot. That would just get him thrown in jail.

"I don't know." The dark haired boy answered.

"You have two options. One, you can calmly agree to go back to Konoha with us. That option will make your punishment a bit easier. Your second option is refusing to return, leaving me to use force to bring you back where you can spend a life time in prison."

Sasuke obviously knows which choice to make, but he still felt unsure about his decision. He doesn't exactly want to return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but he still wanted to destroy the people who made his brother kill his clan. Naruto had promised him he would help him, but Sasuke wasn't sure how. Returning would have some consequences. He thought about it for a while and decided that some consequences would be better than having a lot.

"I'll go with you." He answered quietly with a cold voice.

The older man was a bit taken aback. He hadn't expected the younger ninja to give in so easily. He had expected a little fight and some arguing, but never an easy situation. "Alright then, but due to the circumstances and your reputation, I have no choice but to bind you."

"What?" snapped the Uchiha. His face was hard and his expression clearly showed he disapproved.

Before he knew it, he was on the ground with the gray haired man sitting on top of him. His hands were held behind him and were bounded tightly together by some chakra strings. "Sorry Sasuke, but you're still a criminal whether you decide to come back on your own or not."

The boy under him grunted in response to his statement. He definitely wasn't happy with being in this situation.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was very amused by his reactions. He doesn't seem to be fighting back at all. This makes his case much easier.

* * *

Sakura had just finished healing Naruto's injuries. The blonde boy himself was still unconscious and was now lying down on a cot in the back of the tent.

Sakura tried to busy herself with healing other injured shinobi, but her mind kept wandering back to the earlier encounter. It was relieving and painful to see Sasuke. He still seemed the same, cold and distant. He hadn't said a word and didn't do anything to help Naruto when he fell unconscious. That didn't really matter, but he could have at least shown some kind of emotion. But his expression was hard and indifferent.

As the pink haired kunoichi mulled over the young Uchiha and his actions, she tried to concentrate on the task at hand. And that was repairing the torn skin of a ninja that got attacked buy one of the Zetsu's.

She quickly repaired the cells in the upper arm. Just as she was finishing up, she was interrupted by a loud commotion that was taking place outside of the tent.

Sakura made quick strides to the front of the large medical tent, towards the opening. As she walked out, she immediately knew why everyone was acting out. Near the edges of the clearing stood her white haired sensie and the boy she was just thinking about a few moments ago. Sakura was quite surprised to see Sasuke bound by chakra strings.

Before she could ponder that thought, two masked ninjas appeared before the duo. The ANBU were quick to the scene.

"Kakashi, what's going on here? Why is Sasuke Uchiha here?" questioned one of the masked figures.

Kakashi raised his lone eye in amusement. "Clearly you can see he is bounded. He had agreed to return to the village on his own will." He replied lazily.

Now that surprised Sakura. She never thought Sasuke would choose to return willingly. After all, they have been trying to get him back for four years now. He must be planning something.

The ANBU looked at Sasuke to see his response. The young boy clearly looked displeased with a scowl on his face. Sakura didn't think the two men were convinced with the look Sasuke was sporting.

"How do we know he means what he says?" questioned of the men.

Kakashi sighed and rolled his eye internally. "He wouldn't be standing here in front of you if he didn't mean it", he stated calmly.

Both of the masked figures gave each other a quick look and then one at Sasuke. That scowl was sill on his face.

"He still needs to be detained. We will escort him to the village and report him to the Hokage. For now, he will need to be under our supervision at all times", stated one of the men.

Kakashi didn't reply. He softly pushed Sasuke forward towards the two ANBU. The teen let out a low grunt before he was taken under the two shinobi. In a puff of smoke, Sasuke and the ANBU were gone.

Sakura could hear many people around her to start talking. As she quickly made her way over to the copy-nin, she could hear the main subject of everyone's conversations. They were obviously about Sasuke since they all just witnessed what happened a few moments ago.

She finally made it to where her sensie was standing. He was calmly observing the new scene and the reactions of the other ninjas. "Did Sasuke really choose to come back on his own, or did you have to fight him?" asked the kunoichi.

Kakashi turned to his student with a smile. "I'm not that powerful to take Sasuke on my own. I gave him two options and he chose the lesser of the worse."

"So he really made this choice?" questioned Sakura.

Kakashi nodded. It was hard for Sakura to believe that Sasuke would easily agree to return. She was happy, but she was also a little worried. Sasuke had changed over the past few years and she knew it wasn't for better. As that thought ran through her head, she thought of something else.

"What did you do with Madara's body?"

"I used a jutsu to transport it to the research center in the village. His body will be examined there."

Just as those words left his mouth, another figure appeared in front of them. This time, it was someone familiar. Kakashi turned his attention to the new person in the group.

"Any news from headquarters?" asked the white haired man.

"We have gotten information from the other units that all activity has halted. The enemy has been slowly retreating the past four hours. We contacted HQ and they advised us to stop any advances and return to our respected village in the morning. It seems the war is over", answered Inoichi Yamanaka.

"We can't be too sure on that. There are still some unknown variables. But for now, we have to listen to the Hokage and retreat", replied the copy-nin.

The other man nodded in response. He then turned his attention to Sakura. "Ino and Shikamura left a while ago. They wanted me to let you know that they were okay and that they were going to the other base camps to check on things and inform everyone to go home."

"Thank you for letting me know."

Inoichi once again nodded and turned to leave. The duo watched as his retreating back disappeared in the crowd of shinobi wandering around.

"So what do we do now", asked Sakura.

"For now, get plenty of rest. We leave at dawn tomorrow. I'm going to go take care of some business."

Sakura didn't get a chance to ask what her sensie was going to do before he disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

She looked around the camp and noticed that less and less people were wandering around and most of the injured were healed by now. Many ninjas were getting ready for the long journey to their villages tomorrow. She sat down on a large stone nearby and closed her eyes for a moment. Although the possibility of the war being over was high, she still couldn't relax. There was still a lot to worry about. Naruto, for one, was a big issue. The blonde boy is going to get it real bad when they return.

And then there's Sasuke. After all these years, he was finally returning to the village. He's still a missing-nin and Sakura knew what the consequences were going to be like for him. It's definitely not going to be easy. She let her thoughts run through her mind one more time before she decided to open her eyes. Nightfall was approaching. She got up from the rock and headed towards the main tent in the camp.

She was going to take Kakashi's advice and rest. The past month has been a long one. She was ready to go home and relax. That was her last thought as she lay down and fell asleep on one of cots in the medical tent.

* * *

**A/N: **So there you have it. Please, please, please tell me what you think of the story so far. I would really LOVE to get some feedback on how I'm doing. So please REVIEW! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **New Chapter! I managed to upload a lot quicker than last time. But that's because school's out for the summer and I'm sure I wont be doing anything else. Anyways, this chapter is a little longer (not by much) than the other ones. I'm starting to get really into it. Hopefully my updates come sooner. Enjoy! :)

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Learning to Live

Chapter 4

The sky was a brilliant blue and the big bright ball in the sky was shining down on the not so quiet village below. Even though the summer sun was scorching, many people of the Hidden Leaf Village were bustling out and about. Most of the commotion came from the construction work that was still in process. Other villagers were making their mid-morning rounds in the market. Children were running around playing ninja games.

The day might seem like an ordinary day for any commoner. But for the shinobi that came back from the war, the village felt like a haven. There was no fighting or any bloody battlefields. It was a relief for the ninjas that are finally home after fighting for their lives.

In the newly built hospital, Sakura looked out of the window of Naruto's hospital room on the third floor. She could easily see the faces on the Hokage Mountain. She had been ordered by the Godaime to work at the hospital ever since she got home from the three-day travel a week before. She hadn't even been able to go home and get some proper rest. She's been sleeping on the beat down couch in the employee lounge.

"Hey Sakura-chan, when are you going to release me? I want some ramen!" Naruto shouted from across the room on his hospital bed.

The medic's right eye twitched from annoyance. Naruto had been complaining all week to get out of the hospital. His injuries had healed a little bit, but he was still in no condition to go run about.

Sakura turned around sharply and gave the blonde boy a stern look. "You'll leave when I say you can leave. You're still not fully healed yet", the medic replied harshly.

Naruto cowered back a little in his bed. He didn't want to push Sakura any more than he had been doing all week. He might just end up in the hospital longer, considering her temper and inhuman strength.

Sakura saw the disappointment on Naruto's face. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm just tired. I haven't had a chance to rest this week."

The injured boy plastered a big grin on his face. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind staying here, except the food sucks! Tsunade-baachan should really give you a break though."

For the first time in a long time, Sakura sprouted a smile. It was soft but nevertheless a true smile. She had been worrying too much the past week. Many shinobi were being admitted into the hospital. Plus she's been working non-stop.

She once again turned around and looked out of the big open window. A soft breeze drifted in and blew her hair back slightly away from her face.

The pink-haired kunoichi has also had a lot on her mind the past week. Most of her thoughts revolved around a certain ninja who is now currently in a dark cell at the prison. Sakura hadn't seen Sasuke since she saw the ANBU take him away back at the base camp. But she was positive as to where he was now. She still couldn't grasp the idea of him returning on his own will. Even though she wanted Sasuke back in the village, it didn't seem like something he would do. She has been trying to figure out why ever since Kakashi told her what Sasuke had decided.

"So have you seen Sasuke yet?"

Speak of the devil. Sakura wasn't really surprised that Naruto asked. She knew something was up when she saw him and Sasuke take down Madara together. They must have made a plan or joined forces somehow.

Without turning around, she answered the blonde's question, "I saw him when you passed out and when Kakashi-sensie brought him back to the base camp Sai and I took you to. That was the last time I saw him before the ANBU took him away."

"Does that mean he's in the village? Where is he? Are they interrogating him?" questioned the jinchuuriki.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh before turning around to face her teammate. "I know he's in the village but I don't know where or what they're doing with him."

Naruto didn't say anything to that.

Sakura wanted to ask Naruto what had happened between him and Sasuke, but she didn't know weather or not she would believe or like the answer. Even if she still cared about Sasuke, she still didn't trust him. His intentions lately have been out of character for him.

She looked at Naruto for a few seconds. His head hung low and his carefree attitude a minute ago had vanished.

"Naruto, what happened between you and Sasuke? Why did he decide to come back all of a sudden?"

The kyuubi-host lifted his head up slowly but didn't reply right away. His eyes moved around the room a few times before settling on the kunoichi by the window.

"Nothing really happened. He just decided it was time to come home now that Madara was dead."

Sakura gave the boy in the bed a suspicious look. She was right. She definitely doesn't believe a word he just said. She decided to let it go. She didn't want to pressure Naruto into telling her. She'll find out eventually as time goes by.

Right as she was thinking that, there was a knock on the door and a few seconds later, the door slid open to reveal Shizune. She quietly walked in and noticed the awkward atmosphere right away. She looked between the pink-haired medic and the blonde boy. Neither of them had seemed to notice she was in the room.

Shizune cleared her throat and plastered a smile on her face before addressing the two teens in the room. "Good morning Naruto-san, Sakura-san."

Both persons snapped their head towards the door to see an over-enthusiastic Shizune standing there.

"Ohayo Shizune", Sakura answered back. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. Tsunade-sama would like to see you in her office."

"Oh, did she tell you why?" asked Sakura.

"No. She just sent me to get you right away."

"Alright. I'll leave at once." The pink-haired medic turned to Naruto. "You better stay in bed and not cause any trouble while I'm gone", she said in a stern voice.

The blonde boy grinned widely and gave a nervous laugh. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine!"

Sakura gave him once last look before waving on her way out.

* * *

The walk to the newly rebuilt Hokage tower wasn't far. The hospital had been relocated to be closer to the tower in case of emergencies. It was now a fifteen minute walk compared to the thirty minutes it had been before.

As Sakura walked through the crowded village, she can now see that many areas were still half built. That didn't really surprise her. The attack a while back had destroyed everything. The main buildings, such as the hospital and Hokage tower have been completely rebuilt.

Sakura finally made it to the tower. She quickly climbed the stairs to Tsunade's office. The design of the building had stayed the same aside from some new additions.

She arrived at the big red door and gently knocked twice on the hard wood surface.

"Enter", came the strong voice on the other side.

The kunoichi opened the door and entered the large circular room. Sakura looked at the desk by the window expecting to see the Hokage. Instead, she was greeted with stacks upon stacks of paper and files.

"Tsunade-sama?"

The Godaime stuck her head out from the stacks of paper on her desk to look at the person that addressed her. She had bags under her eyes from continuous work and ink marks on her face from falling asleep on some documents. Her piglet, Tonton, was sitting casually on her head.

Sakura tried to hold back her laughter from the comical sight. It wasn't everyday she got to see her shishou like this.

"Oh, Sakura it's just you."

"Shizune said you needed to speak with me."

Tsunade stepped out from behind her desk and sat on the couch near the right corner of her office. Tonton jumped off of the Godaime's head and onto the floor.

"I have a mission for you." The blonde stated calmly.

"A mission? What kind of mission?"

"It's not exactly a mission. It's more of an assignment." The Hokage paused for a brief second before continuing. "I need you to heal Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura stopped breathing for a minute and tried to register what Tsunade just said. Heal _Sasuke_? There was no way she was going to do that. She didn't plan to go near him, at least not so soon. She was still trying to figure out what his plan was. Plus the fact that she is probably the last person he wants to see right now.

"Tsunade-sama, I don't think I can do this. I don't even think I'm the right person to do this. Can't you have someone else handle it?"

Tsunade studied the young girl for a minute. Sakura avoided eye contact and her hands kept playing with the hem of her shirt.

"You're the only one that has ever been close to Sasuke."

"We were never really close." Sakura stated with a hint of bitterness.

"Even so, you were on his team as a genin."

Sakura didn't really know what else she could say to get out of this situation. She really didn't want to see the Uchiha. But she couldn't exactly go against the Hokage's order. She took a deep sigh before making up her mind to go heal her old teammate. "Why does Sasuke need to be healed?" Sakura asked.

"The interrogation unit hasn't been so easy on him. He has been quite cooperative with telling us everything he knows. The only thing he won't talk about is Itachi. The interrogators also feel that he's leaving some part of Madara's plan out." Tsunade paused and then looked at the standing girl straight in the eyes. "Are you going to heal him?"

"Yes. When do you want me to go?"

"Now. Uchiha's at the prison right now. There are ANBU guarding every square inch of the area, so you need to take this pass to let them know why you're there and that you have my permission." Tsunade finished as she gave Sakura a small rectangular piece of paper with the necessary information and a small insignia of the leaf symbol at the top right had corner.

Sakura stayed quiet as she listened to the Hokage.

As the blonde walked back to her desk, she turned around and spoke in a sincere voice toward her pupil. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I can somewhat relate to how you feel. I know you had strong feelings toward Sasuke."

Sakura looked downward at her feet. She didn't want to look at Tsunade. "Those feelings are gone. Right now, I don't have a single ounce of trust for him."

Tsunade didn't say anything; instead she sat down and continued on with her mountain of paperwork.

Sakura took that as her cue to leave. She slowly turned around and exited out of the office. The door made a soft click as she closed it.

* * *

Following orders, Sakura headed straight to the prison on the outskirts of town. She took her time walking there to think some things over before she had to meet the stoic Uchiha.

She knew Sasuke had changed over the past four years. That fact was a no brainer. He had tried to kill Naruto multiple times and herself as well. He killed his master, Orichimaru. He formed a specialized team to hunt down his brother who he managed to kill. And instead of returning to his home village, he decides to join forces with the most powerful man in the world to destroy everything and everyone. Yeah, that is pretty much Sasuke's life story right there.

What Sakura didn't understand was why Sasuke decided to return to the Leaf Village. His mind was set on destroying the Leaf. Maybe she'll find her answer when she sees him.

Arriving at the main entrance of the prison walls, Sakura was stopped by two masked men.

"State your business here." One of the men ordered.

"Haruno Sakura, appointed medic to heal Uchiha Sasuke by order of the Hokage." Sakura pulled out the pass Tsunade had given her and handed it to one of the ANBU.

They looked over the piece of paper and then back at the medic.

"Right this way. We'll escort you to the prisoner's cell."

The medic nodded and followed after the two men clad in black. As she looked around, she could see numerous amount of ANBU. Some were on the roof while others were sneaking around the building. Tsunade wasn't kidding when she said every square inch was guarded.

She continued to follow the two ANBU inside the building and down a complex corridor towards the cell that held Sasuke. The corridor's darkness increased as they moved further down. Soon enough, the trio appeared in front of a large metallic cell door. Two ANBU were already there, guarding the cell.

"Would you like if one of us went inside with you?" asked one of the men.

The pink-haired ninja shook her head. The ANBU by the door pulled out a set of keys and began unlocking the cell door.

* * *

His body was in pain. Every single muscle in his body was aching from the torture he had been through. He had told the village everything he knew. He just refused to talk about his brother. Itachi had nothing to do with anything that took place the past couple of months.

Sasuke rolled onto his side on the hard cot he was laying down on. Turning increased the pain even more. It also didn't help that he had a large gash on his waste. Why the hell did he agree to come back again? Oh yeah, because Naruto promised to help him destroy the council. He was going to kill that blonde idiot as soon as he got out of this cell.

Sasuke closed his eyes to block out the light that came from the small lamp hanging above him. Maybe if he tried to sleep, the pain would go away.

He was about to drift off when heard a loud click come from the door. He didn't bother looking up or even opening his eyes. It was probably someone coming to deliver some food for him to eat.

He listened quietly as the large door swung open and made a loud screeching sound that could make ones eardrums bleed. He then heard quiet, yet hesitant footsteps enter the room. That was strange, but he still didn't look up. The stranger stopped as the large doors were being closed. He heard a defiant click as the door was shut.

It stayed quiet for a few more minutes before the footsteps started again. They were slowly approaching him. They suddenly stopped in front of his little cot. The figure kneeled down and tried reaching out for his shoulder. Sasuke didn't know who this person was or what they were trying to do. It couldn't be anyone from the interrogation unit. They would've called out to him from the beginning.

With quick reflexes, he shot out his arm and grabbed the stranger's wrist before it made contact with his shoulder. He heard a quiet gasp and was surprised to feel his fingers wrap around such a small wrist.

He finally decided to open his eyes to see who had reached out to him. Green. That was the first thing he saw, a big pair of green eyes.

Sakura was the last person Sasuke expected to see in his prison cell. He quickly let go of her wrist. Once he released her, she quickly took a few steps back away from him.

"Get up." She ordered.

Sasuke didn't really know what to do at this point. It was like he was dreaming. Haruno Sakura was in his cell _ordering_ him to get up. If he could laugh, he's pretty sure he would be laughing right now. Regardless of what he thought, he forced himself to sit up, ignoring the pain he felt.

The kunoichi started to move forward again. She tried to touch him, but he only grabbed her wrist again. "What are you doing?" he growled. He gave her an intense glare.

Being the stubborn person she was, Sakura equally glared back at him. "I'm here to heal you", she bit out through gritted teeth.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and intensified his glare. "I don't need to be healed, especially by you."

Sakura ignored the statement and continued to glare at the stubborn boy before her. A few more seconds passed before she spoke.

"I'm not stupid, Sasuke. There was a reason the Hokage sent me here. I can clearly see that you're suffering."

He continued to glare at her. Realizing he hadn't let her go yet, he loosened his grip and let her hand fall. She withdrew and took a single step back. Thinking she would just leave, he turned his head to the side to avoid eye contact.

A few minutes passed and Sasuke could still feel Sakura's presence in front of him. He was really getting annoyed now. He was about to tell her off, but he never really got a chance.

As soon as he turned his head, he felt a very sharp pain run through his jaw. He spit out blood onto the concrete floor. His head snapped up to the pink-haired girl that just landed a hard punch to his face. If looks could kill, Sakura would be dead by now.

"What the hell was that?" Spat the angry boy.

"If you would have just let me heal you, I wouldn't have hit you."

Sasuke cursed under his breath and tried to wipe the blood off the corner of his mouth.

"Just get it over with." He muttered.

Sakura smirked and walked over to the sulking boy. "Lean against the wall for support. It'll be easier for the both of us."

Sasuke did as he was told. It was better not to argue and get things moving faster.

The medic's hands started to glow a soft green chakra. She swept her hands over his body to check if everything was in place and what needed to be healed. She decided to start with the large gash on the side of his abdomen.

Sasuke sat in silence as Sakura healed is wound he received from the interrogation unit. As time passed, he could feel less pain in his side. He closed his eyes and let the warm chakra enter his body and ease his sore muscles.

Fifteen minutes had pass since Sakura started to heal him. No part of his body was aching. Even the gash was completely gone. He slowly opened his eyes. Sakura moved her hand up to his face and began healing the area she punched. It had left a nasty bruise and seeing it gave her satisfaction.

She tried not to feel guilty. He deserved it anyways for everything he's done.

She looked up from his jaw and met his dark obsidian eyes. They were cold and empty. She felt like she wasn't even looking into _his _eyes.

"Why did you come back?"

That question surprised him. Naruto and Sakura have been trying to get him to come back to the village for years. It didn't make sense as to why she would ask that.

When he didn't answer, she tried again. "I know you're up to something. You can fool everyone around you, but I won't let myself get fooled."

Sakura finished healing his jaw and stood up. She turned around and headed towards the door. She knocked twice to indicate the ANBU outside she was ready to leave. The door was quickly opened for her.

Before she stepped out of the cell, she turned to the dark-haired boy sitting against the wall on his cot. "If you don't want to deal with me again, then I suggest you tell the interrogation unit everything you know. That includes Itachi."

With that said, Sakura walked out of the cell and into the corridor.

Sasuke heard the large door close. He also heard the distinct click it made to indicate it was shut. He sighed and lay back down on his cot.

* * *

**A/N: **Hopefully you liked it. Sorry for any mistakes or errors. It's hard to edit my own work. Please Review! It would make me super happy. Plus, if you tell me you like this story, it would encourage me to write more. :D


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thank you to those of you that reviewed. It managed to put a smile on my face. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 5

The streets of Konoha were quiet this early morning. That's probably because most civilians are usually still asleep at five in the morning. The only ones up were shop keepers getting ready for the new day and of course a certain kunoichi.

Haruno Sakura was cursing the Gods right about now.

She was forcing her feet to move as she walked through the quiet town. Tsunade had called her up once again. She wondered what it could possibly be _now_.

Ever since she healed the stoic Uchiha a week ago, the Hokage haven't been giving her a break.

Tsunade made Sakura run all her errands and even tried to make the poor girl do all her paperwork when she was drunk. Honestly though, Sakura felt bad for the Hokage. If she had a choice to become the Hokage, she would pass it up to Naruto. That goofy blonde would jump for the opportunity.

Sakura continued to trudge her way towards the Hokage tower.

She finally made it to the building.

After climbing what seemed to be an endless amount of stairs, Sakura made it to the big red door of the Hokage's office.

She lazily raised her hand and knocked on the hard wood two times.

"Enter", said a strong voice.

Sakura reached for the doorknob and entered the large office. The first thing she noticed was her teammates standing around Tsunade's desk.

All members of Team Kakashi, including Sai and Yamato turned around to see the new arrival. Kakashi casually waved to her, while Sai and Yamato stayed quiet.

"Ohayo Sakura-chaaaan!"

Naruto was always so loud, even in the morning. He had been released from the hospital a few days ago. Ever since, his energy has been on a never ending high.

Sakura sighed and gave a small smile and muttered a quick good morning to the occupants in the room.

"Glad you can join us, Sakura", Tsunade said.

"What are we all doing here? Do we have a mission?" questioned the young girl as she walked up to her team. She took a spot between Naruto and Sai.

She was pretty curious as to why every member of her team was standing before her. They either had a very important mission or something happened that requires these shinobi to know.

"You don't have a mission. But I do have something very important to tell you. It's kind of last minute though", Tsunade paused for a moment. "Uchiha Sasuke has been very cooperative this past week. He has told us everything he knew about Uchiha Madara, the Akatsuki, and his former teacher, Orochimaru."

"We even managed to get him to talk about his brother, Uchiha Itachi. That was a bit surprising." Tsunade paused again to look at the ninjas in front of her. They were all listening intently, especially Naruto and Sakura.

She continued speaking, "To confirm the truth in his words, we had Yamanaka Inoichi search his brain for any old memories. We believe everything he said to be true. The interrogation unit decided that they were finished with him. He said everything he had to."

Tsunade stopped once again to see a reaction from the team. Yamato and Sai both looked indifferent of the situation. She didn't really expect a reaction out of them. They didn't know Sasuke like the other three members did.

Naruto had an intent look on his face. He was hanging onto every word the Hokage was voicing. Sakura on the other hand, was averting her eyes in every direction. She seemed nervous, but couldn't exactly understand why.

Kakashi looked weary. His lone eye drooped a little but he was still looked interested to find out what would happen to his old student.

"It seems that's not all you have to say", Kakashi drawled out in a lazy tone.

"You're right. The council wants to eliminate Sasuke for his betrayal and crimes."

"What?" growled Naruto. It was obvious he was angry. "They can't do that. He already told us everything. Why the hell should they kill him?" he demanded, clenching his fists.

The young boy was now furious. He would not allow the council to get rid of Sasuke like that. He went through so much to get him back. Plus, he made a promise to the Uchiha. He didn't intend to break that promise anytime soon or at all for that matter.

"Naruto's right. Sasuke willfully decided to return and cooperated by telling us everything he knew." Sakura said, defending her old teammate.

Sakura wasn't sure whether or not she should be saying this. She didn't even trust Sasuke at this point in her life. She was still trying to figure out his alternative motive for returning. Putting all of that aside, she still cared about the dark-haired boy and didn't want him to die.

Kakashi's eyes seemed to widen slightly, still remaining silent. But thinking over it rationally, unlike his two pupils, he figured this would be the punishment of his old student.

Tsunade expected this. She sighed and closed her eyes momentarily. She rested her chin on her intertwined fingers together while her elbows were resting on her desk. She seemed to be in deep thought.

She knew how Team 7 would react to this situation. She opened her eyes once again and directed her attention to the group standing in front of her. "I understand how you all must be feeling. But the council is awfully strict. They won't tolerate a rouge ninja like Sasuke that has committed many crimes to live."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists together even tighter. "So what if he has done some bad things? The council has no right deciding his faith after everything they've done to him!" he protested.

"Naruto!" Kakashi warned in a stern voice. "We still don't know if any of that is true."

Naruto turned to his teacher. "It is true!"

Tsunade was slightly confused right about now. She couldn't put together what Kakashi and Naruto were arguing about. "What are you two talking about?" she demanded.

Both Kakashi and Naruto looked at the Godaime. Kakashi sighed. Things were starting to get complicated.

"When we were in the Iron Country, we encountered Madara. He told us about the Uchiha massacre and the plot behind it. Apparently the council gave Itachi a mission to destroy his own clan. The only person he spared was Sasuke. He begged the Sandaime to not let Sasuke know the truth. Against Itachi's wishes, Sasuke learned the truth and had intended to destroy Konoha."

Sakura was shocked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was any of this true? Had the council really plotted to annihilate the Uchiha clan? That was just…cruel.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. This was the first time she's heard of this and she couldn't believe it. She knew the council was corrupt, but to do something like that? It was unbelievable. And the Third Hokage knew as well. It didn't make sense. Even with what she just found out, there was still no proof. She would have to do some deep digging and find out if everything she just heard was true.

"We still don't have any proof. I'll search all the old files and records and see if I can find a lead." She paused. "As for Sasuke, a trial will be held tomorrow at noon to determine where he stands. I won't let the council have their way with him, at least, not when I'm around."

Naruto was a little calmer now. He was fine as long as Sasuke wasn't sentenced to death.

"Alright, you're all dismissed except for Kakashi. I have a short mission for you. And Yamato, you still need to help out with the reconstruction."

Yamato's shoulders slumped in agony. Performing just one wood jutsu wears him out. Half of the village still needed rebuilding. He slowly dragged his feet out of the office while fake tears ran down his face. This day was going to be a big pain for him.

The other four members of Team Kakashi filed out of the office except for Kakashi himself.

Once the doors were closed, Kakashi gave his full attention to the Hokage. "So what's the mission?" he drawled out lazily.

"I need you to get a small jounin team together and scout the areas around the village, outside of the walls. Two to three members should be fine."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just a precaution. The war is over, but Konoha is extremely weak right now. Anyone can take advantage of the state we're in."

Kakashi nodded to show he understood. "Then I'll get going now. Ja ne." He then disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

* * *

Outside of the Hokage tower, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were walking quietly next to one another. None of them had said a word since walking out of Tsunade's office.

Sakura looked at Naruto. His head hung low and his feet were dragging. She didn't like seeing him like this. He of all people would get depressed the most. He and Sasuke used to be like brothers. Even though they fought a lot, they always had each other's back. Plus they knew how to work like a team. That fact still didn't change. After witnessing them take down Madara together, Sakura believed they were still powerful as a team.

She had to do something or say something before Naruto got too depressed over the situation. She couldn't watch him like this anymore. He's already been through so much already.

"Ne, Naruto. Do you want to get some ramen? Didn't you say you already finished helping out with rebuilding Ichiraku's?"

After hearing the word ramen, Naruto's head perked up and his eyes sparkled. "Ramen!" He sprouted the biggest grin possible and booked it to Ichiraku's. He then turned around and yelled over his shoulder, "You're paying, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura clenched her fist and muttered a curse under her breath. The nerve of that guy. How the hell does he expect her to pay when he eats like a cow? She knew she was going to be broke but if it was to cheer him up, then she didn't really mind.

She quickly calmed herself down and turned toward her other teammate. "Would you like to join us?" she asked politely.

"No thank you. I'm off to the research center. I'm going to see if they need assistance with anything." He replied monotonously. He turned around away from her and walked down the street towards the research facility.

Sakura watched his retreating back for a while before she decided to head over to Ichiraku. Naruto probably ate few bowls by now. She sighed and muttered dangerously under her breath.

* * *

True to her predicament, Naruto had downed a few bowls already. They were stacked onto one another on the counter beside him.

Naruto held a bowl up to his mouth and slurped the soup. It was quite noisy and unattractive. He finally drank all the soup in the bowl and then slammed it down onto the counter. "Whoo! Now that was great! It's been a while since I had some tasty ramen."

"Try not to eat so much", pleaded Sakura. "I barely have any money left."

Naruto turned around to see his teammate with a scowl on her face. He laughed nervously before replying. "Gomen, Sakura-chan. It'll be my treat next time. I promise!"

Sakura took a seat on the stool next to Naruto and tired to order herself some ramen.

"Well it's so nice to see some old faces, especially so early in the morning", Teuchi said, welcoming his favorite customers.

"Good to see you too, Teuchi-san" Sakura greeted with an earnest smile.

"Long time no see, Sakura. Have you been busy lately?" replied the old man.

Sakura smiled shyly. "Yeah, things have been rough." Her smile was starting to falter a bit as she said those words.

"I see", said Teuchi. "Well how about some ramen, on the house." He gave the young girl a caring smile.

Sakura smiled again and said thank you.

Naruto practically spit the food out of his mouth after hearing the generous offer. "W-what? How come you don't give me free ramen?"

Sakura glared at Naruto and smacked him on the back of his head. The force caused him to hit his head on the counter.

"Shut it, Naruto. I'm the one paying, remember? So be quiet before I change my mind."

Naruto lifted his to show the fake tears running down the side of his cheeks. His eyes were big and sparkly. "H-hai, Sakura-chan', he muttered.

"You're supposed to treat the ladies, Naruto", Teuchi reprimanded.

Sakura turned around and broke her chopsticks apart.

"Itadakimasu." She said quietly.

She then proceeded to eat her steaming hot bowl of ramen that Ayame placed in front of her.

"Ne Sakura-chan, do you think Sasuke will be okay?"

Sakura was caught off guard. She thought she cheered Naruto up by treating him to ramen. He must still be upset about hearing what the council wanted to do about the dark-haired teen.

She herself was worried about what would happen to Sasuke.

Sakura decided to put on a smile for Naruto so he wouldn't be as worried. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will work things out. Do you remember what she said? She won't let the council have their way with Sasuke."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Suddenly, he then leaped off from the stool he was sitting on. "I'm going to go see how everything in the village is going. Thanks for treating me to ramen!"

He sprouted his trademark grin and ran out of the ramen shop.

Sakura was happy that he was able to smile and just be himself. But she knew deep down he was still worried. Things will only get worse tomorrow when they go to the trial. She just knows a lot of horrible things will be revealed about Sasuke. Weather she can take it or not, she didn't know.

As she finished contemplating about the trial tomorrow, another thought clicked in her head. She turned her head to the side to see about ten empty ramen bowls stacked onto one another.

Sakura clenched her fist and a giant vein popped out on her forehead.

"Narutoooooooo!" she screamed out in frustration.

That blonde idiot was going to get a beating later for emptying her wallet.

* * *

**A/N: **Well not much had happened in this chapter. It was more of a filler than anything else. And I'm sorry if this story is moving along slowly. I'm trying to get as much detail in as possible and I dont want to take things too fast. The next chapter will hopefully be out soon. I'll have more writing time after tomorrow. I will be taking the SAT and I'm absolutely freaking out! But after the test, I promise to write more. Please Review and tell me what you think. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Okay, so I have so much time on my hands now. I have absolutely nothing to do. That's probably a good thing since I can get a move on with this story. So, everything is going well. I really appreciate all the positive reviews I've been recieving from all of you. Its making me insanely happy to think that you like this story. Once again, I'm sorry if it's moving at a slow pace. Like I said before, I'm just trying to add details. But dont worry. Things will progress faster after this chapter. At least, I think it will. Hahah. Anyways! Here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 6

"Is that…?"

"Yeah, it's him."

"Didn't he betray the village?"

"What's he doing here?"

"Didn't he kill someone?"

The citizens of Konoha were all riled up. The buzz about _the _Uchiha Sasuke returning had spread like wild fire throughout the entire village.

Sasuke's return was kept a secret from the public ever since he returned to the village. The Hokage didn't want any gossip or rumors being spread around, especially now that the war was over. She also didn't want the other villages to get involved. To them, he was an international criminal. He wouldn't get off that easy with the whole world after him.

Now, the whole village knew he was back as they saw him walk down the streets with his hands tied behind his back with chakra strings. Everyone had left what they were doing and started to crowd around on the side of the street to watch as he walked by. Four ANBU guards were escorting him to the Court House for his trial. Two were in front of him while the other two were burning holes onto his back to make sure he didn't try anything suspicious.

Sasuke could feel the stares he was receiving from the villagers. It didn't really surprise him. He was always being stared at wherever he went. Still, his head was held high. He wasn't ashamed at all. He had more pride than to lower his head in front of the pathetic citizens of the Hidden Leaf. He didn't care what they thought of him. If he could, he would easily take their peace and happiness away. That's what he had intended to do, but things apparently changed. He had let that stupid blonde convince him to return.

Feeling all the looks he was getting, Sasuke was starting to wonder if it was a good idea to let Naruto convince him to come back to the place he used to call home. This was starting to become a real pain for him.

He didn't even know if he would be able to live. The worst case scenario for his punishment would be execution. He couldn't let that happen. He still had a goal in mind. He won't let himself die before he accomplished it.

The council was going to suffer for getting involved with his clan. He was going to make sure of it.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke knew that annoyingly loud voice anywhere. He couldn't turn around now though. The ANBU guarding him would think he's up to something.

"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted out. As the blonde boy approached the group, he was suddenly knocked off of his feet. He took a hard landing on his rear end. When he looked up, he saw the two ANBU that were guarding the Uchiha from behind.

"Uzumaki Naruto." One said in a deep monotonous voice.

"No one is permitted to go near Uchiha Sasuke." The other said evenly.

Naruto got up and tried to step around the two guards but failed miserably. Both ANBU guards grabbed one of Naruto's arms to prevent him from going near the dark-haired boy.

"Damn it!" he cursed. "Let go of me."

He struggled to loose free from the strong hold the guards had on him. His attempts were futile.

Sasuke turned around and saw the blonde trying to get out of the guards' hold on him. He was an idiot for trying to call out to him.

"Naruto!" sounded an angry voice.

Naruto stopped struggling and looked to the side. He then saw his pink-haired teammate step through the crowds and onto the open street.

"I told you to stay quiet and not make a scene, damn it!" The kunoichi was infuriated by her teammate's actions.

Just earlier, they were getting ready to go to the Court House together. On their way there, they overheard some of the villagers saying they saw the Uchiha walk by earlier with ANBU leading him. They had said some pretty harsh words about Sasuke and that tipped the blonde off. He then ran away, trying to look for Sasuke.

Sakura tired to stop Naruto from doing something like this. But he tossed aside every word she said and raced off to find his friend.

"But Saku-

"But nothing." She interrupted.

She walked up to him and gave both ANBU a sorry look. They released their hold on him and he fell once again. Sakura grabbed a fistful of his collar and hoisted him up to eye level. By this point, Naruto was scared for his life.

"Keep this up and you won't be able to help Sasuke in court", she whispered harshly.

His face fell and he looked down to his feet. "I know", he mumbled in a low voice.

She let go of his collar and let her hands drop to her side.

The ANBU were ready to leave again, but were stopped once again.

"Wait", Naruto shouted out once more.

"Naruto-

"Just let me say this, Sakura-chan."

Sakura stayed quiet. She had no control over that blonde idiot.

"Sasuke", he stated quietly. He stayed rooted to where he stood, but continued to talk. "I promise I'll get you out of this mess."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and smirked slightly. He then snorted and turned around away from his old teammates. He continued to follow after the two ANBU in front of him.

Naruto, on the other hand, stared as his rival and friend walked away. He wouldn't let the council or anyone hurt Sasuke anymore than they already have.

"He'll be fine, Naruto", Sakura said calmly in an attempt to comfort him.

"Yeah", he mumbled.

"Come on, the trial will start soon and we need to take our seats. I'm warning you now not to do anything stupid before you get kicked out."

He nodded to show that he understood.

They then started to walk towards the Court House like before.

* * *

The Court House was filled with various people. Most of them were shinobi that knew Sasuke as a kid or had some association with him. That pretty much consisted of the Rookie 9 and Guy's team. Some of them were civilians that were interested in Sasuke's case. Regardless of that, the Court House was completely packed. It was hard enough trying to find a seat.

Not only was it filled up, but it was also loud and buzzing. People couldn't help but talk about the subject that was sitting on a chair in the front of the court.

Tsunade sat in the center of the high podium. Seated on either side of her were the council members and elders, Koharu on her right and Homura on her left. She started to do some research about what Kakashi had told her the previous day. So far, she hasn't been able to find anything yet. Most likely, the Third had hid them very well or had gotten rid of them. But that's unlikely.

The Hokage scanned her eyes around the room in search for two particular people. She finally caught sight of Naruto and Sakura as they took their seat in the middle of the third row from the front, next to their friends.

She had much sympathy for those two. They've been through so much just for the young boy that was now seated in front of her. She looked down at Sasuke. He was sitting up with his back straight. His hands were still tied behind his back with chakra strings. He looked forward to the wall of the podium but wasn't really focusing on it. His eyes were blank and showed no emotion whatsoever.

What ever happened to that twelve year old boy she met years before? Tsunade sighed. It was time to start.

"Order in the court!" Tsunade hollered.

It took a few seconds but everyone in the room quickly took their seats and quieted down.

"The trial for Uchiha Sasuke will now proceed. Please refrain from interrupting and disrupting the court." The Godaime's eyes focused on the duo she was looking at earlier. She looked around once more and found Kakashi standing in the corner at the back of the room. He was just lounging casually and observed what was going on like it didn't bother him that his student was having a trial like this.

"Uchiha Sasuke", Tsunade stated. "Do you agree to state the truth and nothing but the truth?"

Sasuke looked up at the Godaime. "Yes." He stated calmly.

"Do you agree to cooperate with the court and answer all questions accordingly?"

"Yes."

"Good. You have given us much information about your time away from Konoha and the people you associated with. During your time with the Sanin, Orochimaru, you have committed numerous crimes, am I right?"

"Yes."

"Some of those would include the assassination of a feudal lord in the land of Waves and the assassination of a highly powerful businessman. Many crimes include a wide range of destruction of small villages with some casualties." Tsunade looked at the young man before her. He wasn't denying anything.

For the next twenty minutes, she continued to list all of the crimes Sasuke committed while under the snake Sanin, at least the ones they had on record. Sasuke agreed to every single one.

Back in the crowd, Sakura was shocked to learn that Sasuke had did all of these terrible things. She would have never known. It was sad to think about the boy she said loved for so long had hurt many people. He didn't just hurt her and Naruto, but a lot of innocent people. People have died by his hands, people with families and loved ones.

Sasuke listened to all of his past "missions". He remembered most of them, but some were fuzzy. He did kill people; he just didn't realize it would add up later. But back then, he didn't plan on coming back to this village and listening to it.

Tsunade finished and looked at him for confirmation. He simply nodded and confirmed what she said was true.

"You also confirmed that you killed Orochimaru", stated Tsunade.

Sasuke nodded in reply.

"We also have information of you forming a team to help you track down your brother, Uchiha Itachi."

The dark-haired boy gritted his teeth. He was still touchy when talking about Itachi.

"After killing Itachi, you joined the Akatsuki. You attempted to capture the Eight-tails jinchuriki, but failed." Tsunade paused. "You were under the order of Uchiha Madara. Do you confirm?"

Many people in the crowd were in shock. It was believed amongst everyone that Uchiha Madara had died decades ago while fighting the First Hokage. Who would have thought he was still alive? It was impossible unless he was an immortal demon of some sorts.

"Yes, it's true."

Tsunade was starting to get annoyed with his indifference to everything. He wasn't even trying to argue against anything. Didn't he care about his life at all?

"You've also encountered the five Kages at the Kage Summit in the Land of Iron and tried to battle them. You've killed many of the samurais in that land. You pursued the Hokage at the time and engaged in combat." Tsunade paused for a second. She hated to think about Danzo being the Hokage when she was out of it. She continued again, "You managed to kill a village leader. You've also attempted to kill your old teammates as well."

Now that made him pay attention. He didn't think they would bring that up as one of his crimes. That was one thing that was hard for him to admit. He tried to kill them more than once and he knew that was going to be a major downfall in the future. Naruto seemed fine. He's the one that kept running after him and he's the one that convinced him to return. His other teammate was a little different. Sakura had always been weak and was known to take things to heart. He wouldn't be surprised if she hated him. He already met her when she healed him. She definitely wasn't pleased by his presence. His old teacher was a bit difficult to read. Kakashi had tried to warn him about pursuing revenge and had taught him one of his most powerful jutsu. He didn't really show thanks by running away and trying to kill him.

Sasuke closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. He just wanted this trial to over and done with already.

"Everything you said is true", he finally said after opening his eyes again.

Tsunade didn't say anything for a while. Instead, she studied the stoic Uchiha. He had closed his eyes and his eyebrows were furrowed. It seemed like he had a hard time agreeing to her last statement.

Internally, she smiled. It seems that somewhere down in his cold heart, he still had a miniscule amount of warmth. This made her views on him change a bit. Although she never intended to execute Sasuke, she was even more determined to find out the dark history of the Uchiha massacre and if the council was really behind it.

"The Court will now take a short break to determine the punishment for Uchiha Sasuke. You can get up and walk around as you please." After she said those words, she got up with the members of the council and exited into a small room for what she knew was going to be a difficult discussion.

Four ANBU guards gathered around Sasuke to make sure he didn't move or try to leave.

Sasuke scoffed. If he didn't try to leave sooner, what makes them think he's going to try to leave now?

He closed his eyes and listened to what was going on around the room. People were starting to talk about him and the crimes he had committed. There were fewer voices than before. Some must have gone outside to take a break. It was better that way. He didn't want to hear _more_ people insulting him.

Naruto and Sakura must be outside since he knew they would have tried to talk to him. Well, Naruto would have tried to. Sakura probably dragged him outside. That was fine with him. He didn't want to see or talk to anyone at this point.

Outside, Naruto was pacing back and forth like a nervous wreck. He couldn't stop thinking about what the final judgment will be. He still needed to keep his promise with Sasuke.

"Naruto, would you calm down? Everything's going to be fine", Sakura said in hopes to get Naruto to calm down.

He didn't stop at all. He kept pacing back and forth. Sakura couldn't really blame him. She was trying to convince herself that everything will be okay. She was afraid to know what will happen to Sasuke. He agreed to everything the Hokage stated. He didn't deny a single thing at all. Every horrible thing he did was all true. It was hard for her to think that the Sasuke she knew as a girl would end up like this.

Sakura stared at the ground for a while. She knew Sasuke was a different person now. He was cold and all of his intentions are dark. She's been saying that she didn't trust him ever since he came back and that was still true. But, she knew she wouldn't be able to take it if he was executed. She hoped Tsunade stuck to her word.

* * *

"Tsunade!" Koharu yelled in anger.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. She knew they would react like this. She just told them that they shouldn't execute the Uchiha and they started running off like wild monkeys.

"He betrayed the village and committed too many crimes. He's a missing ninja. How would that make Konoha look if we accepted him back into the village with open arms?" Homura stated indifferently.

The blonde woman glared at the two old hags. "He was never a missing ninja under _my_ rule. Danzo decided that."

"That's not the point, Tsunade. He is a criminal!" Koharu snapped.

The Hokage was starting to get frustrated with these two. She didn't plan to bring this up, but it was the only way she could possibly get them off her back with her decision with Sasuke.

"Have you ever wondered why he left the village? Why he wanted to get revenge on his brother?" When neither of them answered, she continued. "It's because his clan was murdered by his own flesh and blood. The person he looked up to the most killed his own family, all because he was _ordered _to do so."

Koharu and Homura were shocked to hear this. They didn't think Tsunade knew about this.

"Tsunade, where did you hear that?" questioned Homura.

"Are you saying it's true?" Tsunade demanded.

Neither of the elders answered her question. They both stayed quiet. That was a first, Tsunade realized.

"You don't have to answer that question. I'll find out one way or another. But for now, Uchiha Sasuke will not be executed. Yes, he committed some terrible crimes, but you're forgetting something. He got rid of Orochimaru, the real traitor of The Leaf and he stopped the war by killing Madara. I don't think he should be punished for doing the world a favor."

The elders had yet to speak or say something. They were uncharacteristically quiet and nonobjective.

Tsunade smirked and walked out of the discussion room and back into the Court Room.

* * *

Everyone gathered back into the Court House. They quietly took their seats and anticipated Uchiha Sasuke's verdict.

Naruto and Sakura were cautiously sitting in their seats. They've been waiting all day for this moment and now the time has finally arrived.

Tsunade cleared her throat and spoke loud a clear. "The Court has made a decision." She looked at the dark-haired boy below. He looked completely calm.

"Uchiha Sasuke", she addressed him in a sharp voice.

Said boy looked up at the blonde woman that ruled the village. He couldn't read her facial expression.

"Why did you return?"

Sasuke was surprised by that question. He didn't even know how to answer it. He can't exactly say he wants to get rid of the Council. So what's his next best answer?

"I've already finished what I had to."

Well, it's somewhat the truth. He completed most of his goals. The last one involved him being in the village. So technically, he isn't lying.

The Hokage twitched. It wasn't the best answer you could give while everyone is against you, but it made sense. He ran away for revenge and there's no need for him to continue down that road.

"Your punishment will be one year community service. You'll be guarded by ANBU at all times for six months and I will seal some of your chakra away until I see it fit to return. And since you're still a genin, you'll have to go on D-rank missions." She smirked as she finished.

The occupants in the Court House went wild as they either cheered for the Uchiha or protested.

Naruto was ecstatic as he jumped in the air and shouted, "What did I tell you, Teme!"

Sakura was relieved. She knew Tsunade won't let him die.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was amazed. His punishment was considerably light considering all of the things he did. The only thing he didn't like was that his chakra would be taken away. The Godaime didn't even say when she would return it. Only when she sees it fit. That could be years from now if he doesn't get on her good side.

"Someone, release him", ordered Tsunade.

Soon, an ANBU appeared in behind Sasuke. They took a special kunai and cut the chakra strings off of his wrists and then disappeared again.

Sasuke stood up and looked at the Hokage. "Why are you letting me off so easy?" he questioned.

"Ask your teammates." She said with a smile. "Oh, and meet me in my office tomorrow morning at seven sharp. I need to seal your chakra away."

He nodded and turned around only get attacked by a giant blob of orange. Naruto put his arm around Sasuke and sported the biggest grin he had. If he smiled any wider, his mouth might fall off.

"Welcome back, Teme." He laughed whole-heartedly.

"Get off of me, Idiot." Sasuke tossed Naruto an annoyed look and threw the hyper boy's arm off his shoulder.

"No need to fight right away, boys."

Sasuke looked up and saw Kakashi and Sakura walking towards him and Naruto. Kakashi was the one that had spoken.

"Glad you're back, Sasuke." Kakashi smiled genuinely at his student.

The Uchiha simply nodded. He then averted his gaze to the other member of the group. What was he supposed to expect from Sakura. She already made it clear to him that she didn't trust him. It didn't really matter to him what she thought, though.

Sakura didn't know what to say to Sasuke. She was happy and cautious at the same time. She turned her attention to him. He was looking directly at her and that made her utterly nervous.

It was like the world stopped and she was starting to slip. Her feet were going to give in under the intense stare he was giving her. It wasn't harsh, but blank. Nothing. He had no emotions in them and that just made it harder for her to read him.

Was he expecting her to say something? What was she supposed to say? She already told him what she thought and that she was suspicious. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to say something before she broke down from his hard stare.

Before she could say anything, he looked away from her and towards Naruto, who was already talking about getting some ramen.

Sakura sighed, she felt bad that she didn't say anything at all. She sucked in a deep breath before speaking.

"Welcome home", she said quietly.

Even though Naruto's loud voice penetrated through the whole Court House, he still heard what she said.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there you have it. Sasuke is NOT dead. Whoo! I'll get to work on the next chapter. Tell me what you think and Review! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments. As as gift, I decided to update super early. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 7

Sasuke would like to say everything went well after his trial. In truth, he was annoyed. It wasn't the fact that Naruto dragged him and the other members of Team 7 to the ramen bar. He didn't care about that. Naruto will always be Naruto. What bothered him, however, was the constant feeling of being watched. The worst part of it was that he _knew_ he was being watched. That was his punishment, after all.

But he wasn't being watched by the ANBU guards that were on the roofs, behind close buildings, or just around the corner alone. No, he was being watched by everyone he walked by. The citizens of Konoha were surprised to see him walking around the streets with his hands untied. Now they were all curious as to what happened at the Court House and why a so called "criminal" was walking around the streets without anyone to guard him.

The Uchiha scoffed in annoyance. It didn't concern him of what they thought. He didn't care about them, so why should they care about him? Instead, he focused his attention to the two people he was walking with.

Kakashi apparently had to go somewhere and vanished immediately after greeting Sasuke.

Naruto was blabbering non-stop about training, going on missions, and eating ramen. The blonde idiot just didn't know when to shut up. He just kept talking even though no one was paying attention. Well, Sasuke wasn't paying attention. He didn't know if Sakura was listening to a word Naruto was saying.

Sakura was walking along quietly next to Naruto. She would look at him and nod every now and then to show she was listening. In actuality, her mind was in a distant land. Different thoughts and images were running through her head. Most of it usually consisted of the dark-haired boy standing on the other side of Naruto.

Sakura glanced at Sasuke. He was obviously not paying attention to what Naruto was talking about. His jaw looked hard, like he was gritting his teeth. Even though his expression looked indifferent, he was probably upset about all the unwanted attention he was getting.

Looking around, Sakura realized the village was oddly quiet. Every time they walked by someone or a group of people, they all stopped their conversations to look at Sasuke. Some people were expressing shock on their faces while others were clearly unhappy, considering the glares they were sending towards the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan.

After what seemed like an eternity, the trio finally arrived at Ichiraku's ramen.

"Hey, Old man! Look who's here?" Naruto said pointing towards Sasuke.

"Hmm? What's this? I haven't seen this face in a long time. You grew into a handsome young man, Sasuke." Teuchi smiled like he always did. He wasn't one to judge. After all, he never criticized Naruto.

Sasuke didn't think the old man behind the counter would remember him. That just shows how many times he's been here with Naruto and Sakura.

"Hey, what about me? Don't you think that I've grown handsome too?" Naruto suggested.

"Ehh? You look the same, Naruto", Teuchi said indifferently.

Naruto's head slumped. It quickly sprung up again in a second. He turned to the pink-haired girl enthusiastically. "Ne, Sakura-chan. Do you think I've become handsome? Surely I'm better looking than Teme over there. Am I right?" he said as he leaned in close to her.

Sakura's face turned bright red. She lifted her fist high in the air and brought it down quickly, making a perfect landing on Naruto's face. The jinchuriki went flying and landed outside in the busy streets. Sakura took satisfaction of hearing him whimper in pain.

She couldn't believe he would ask her something like that, especially in front of Sasuke. She had to admit though. Naruto didn't look half bad, but she couldn't compare him to the Uchiha himself.

Sasuke's face was pale as ever. It contrasted with his ebony locks that seemed to be messier than they were years ago. They framed his face perfectly. His eyes were still charcoal black and cold as ever. Something still didn't swing right about his eyes, though. They seemed different than before. She just didn't know why it seemed that way.

Sasuke sighed at the little scene that just took place. He wasn't really paying attention to anything right now. He needed to focus on more important things. The first would be to find a place to live. He's been staying in that filthy prison ever since he returned and that's not exactly his preference. He needed to start looking now or he'll have to crash with Naruto and thatis not an option.

He quickly got up and was about to leave but was stopped when a curious voice rung out.

"Where are you going?" Sakura questioned.

Sasuke turned around and looked her in the eye. Why the hell is she trying to talk to him now? She's supposed to avoid him. That would make dealing with her much easier, one less person to annoy him. But this is _Sakura_. If he had to describe her in one word, then it would be annoying.

"To find a place to live", he said flatly.

"Don't you need help?"

"No. I'm fine", He stated coldly. He then turned around and left before Sakura could utter another word.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. _Asshole_.

She was trying to be nice. She thought it would be okay to get to know him instead of avoiding him. But Sasuke was a very complex person. He was so hard to read and figure out. How was she supposed to be nice? She tried that in the past, but that didn't work out too well. He just thought she was annoying. It seemed like everything about her was annoying to him.

Well, fine! If he was going to be a stubborn prick, then she was going to avoid him. He could do whatever the hell he wanted to and she wouldn't care.

She realized now that she was lying to herself. Of course she would care. Why? Because this was Uchiha Sasuke and no matter how much she hated to admit it, she still cared about the stubborn prick. How much? She didn't even know herself.

Naruto came back in with his hand against his now swollen cheek, rubbing it back and forth in hopes of taking the pain away. Fake tears were running down the poor sucker's face.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, you could've said no. You didn't have to hit me _that _hard."

Sakura laughed at his appearance. She could always rely on Naruto to make her feel better even when he didn't know he was. She didn't want to worry about Sasuke right now. His problem was over, for now.

"Where did Sasuke go?"

"He went to look for a place to live."

"Nani? He couldn't have at least eaten one bowl of ramen with us?" he said dejectedly.

"Actually Naruto, I have to leave now. I have some things I need to take care of. Bye" Sakura said quickly. She jumped off of the stool and was out of the ramen bar before Naruto could say anything in protest.

"Huh? What? Why did everyone leave?"

Right as he said those words, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke. The gray-haired man looked around for his other two students but they were nowhere in sight.

"My, it looks like the party is over. Ja ne!" he waved as he disappeared with another puff of smoke.

"Ehh? Not you too, Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde boy cried out.

* * *

Sasuke spent the last two hours walking around the village trying to see if he could find an apartment. Being him, he didn't have too much luck with that. The landowners didn't want anything to do with him. Apparently, housing someone of his status would make their business look bad and send their profits down.

The sun was starting to set and he needed to find a place soon. The last thing he wanted to do was go to Naruto for help. He would rather sleep in the trees.

The young boy scoffed in frustration. This was starting to get really annoying.

He turned at corner into the main streets of the village. Once again, all eyes were on him.

Many people were being cautious as he walked by. They would usually take a few steps back so they weren't near him.

He mentally rolled his eyes. It's not like he's going to attack them for no reason at all. Even if he did, he would get arrested on the spot. ANBU were lurking everywhere and he could still feel them watching his every move. Every step he took every gesture he made; they were all being monitored.

Sasuke didn't want to worry about that right now. He won't do something stupid to get himself locked up in a prison again. It was bad enough going there once; he wouldn't want to have the honor of experiencing it again.

Instead, he tried to look at what was positive in his life at the moment. There was nothing much he could list. One may be that he can walk around his home village without question. That could be considered a good thing. What else? Naruto doesn't hate him for betraying the village and causing destruction in various places. Oh, and the fact that he's not dead. That is definitely a good thing. He thought his punishment might have been death back in the Court House.

And even though he can't exactly fulfill his goal of getting rid of the council right now, he knew that in time that will be his greatest satisfaction. That's the most important thing to him right now.

Casually walking down the street, Sasuke noticed a familiar figure up ahead. His brows furrowed. He did not want to see or talk to anyone right now unless they were a landowner.

How was he going to walk past Sakura without her noticing him? Everyone noticed him.

It didn't matter. Maybe his old teammate will just ignore him. Or maybe she might call out to him and try to help him. He couldn't be too sure. One minute she punches him across the face and tells him she doesn't trust him. The next, she reaches out and tries to help. He didn't know Sakura could be so complicated and unpredictable.

He, preferably, would like it if she stayed out of his business. He didn't need her help, or anyone's help for that matter. He is perfectly capable of doing things himself. He had more pride than to ask someone for help.

Walking past the pink-haired girl, Sasuke let out a sigh of relief… until he heard his name being called.

"Sasuke."

He turned around and saw Sakura standing next to an old woman. The young girl had a paper bag in her hand filled with a variety of groceries.

Sasuke slowly walked towards them until he was two feet away from the duo.

"Have you found an apartment yet?" Sakura questioned.

He felt that if he said no, Sakura would mock him. She did offer to help and that would have probably helped him more, but he didn't want to depend on others. He sighed internally.

"No." he replied honestly.

Sakura didn't answer back right away. She wasn't even looking at him, instead past him. It was like she was in some sort of trance.

After a few more seconds, she smiled and spoke again. "Would you like some help?"

He had to be honest with himself. He was getting nowhere with this endless search for an apartment. But then again, he did not want to ask Sakura for her help.

Sasuke thought it over a few more times before finally making a decision. He sucked up all the pride he had. "Fine." He bit out forcefully.

Sakura smiled. She knew he was unhappy. He agreeing for her help must have taken a great deal of will power.

"I would like you to meet Sasaki Hiroko", Sakura said extending her free hand towards the old woman next to her.

The woman was very short. She had silver hair do to her age and bright blue eyes that could resemble Naruto's. Her face was wrinkly and old. She had an earnest smile on her face as she looked at the young Uchiha boy.

"It is very nice you meet you Uchiha Sasuke", Hiroko said sweetly.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He didn't know this woman, but it clearly seemed like she knew him. He was also surprised that she didn't walk away or leave when he walked up to her and Sakura. She didn't do anything offending at all. She just kept on smiling at him. Now that was a first for him.

"Hiroko-san is a close friend of my mother. She and her husband own an apartment complex on the other side of the village." Sakura stated.

"We have a couple extra apartments left. It would be a pleasure to have you living there", Hiroko said, still smiling.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He's been walking around all day searching for a place to live, without much luck. And now this woman he's never met before just offered him an apartment without any questions, all thanks to Sakura.

"I would appreciate that very much." He said in gratitude.

Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke being so polite. She has never seen this side of him. He must only act this way with strangers since he's never been polite with the people he knew. He's certainly never been nice to her.

"Great! You can walk over there with me and Sakura over here." The old woman said cheerily.

Sasuke looked at the pink-haired kunoichi seriously. "Why are you coming?" he asked distastefully.

Sakura wanted to quiver under his cold gaze. Instead, she used her free hand to point to the bag of groceries she was holding. "These are Hiroko-san's groceries. I was going to take them over to her place before you even showed up." She answered indignantly.

Hiroko sensed the tenseness in the atmosphere. It seemed like the two youngsters before her weren't getting along very well. "Come along now. The sun is setting." She said to break the silence that had formed.

Hiroko started to walk in the direction of the apartment complex she and her husband owned.

The two youngsters, as Hiroko likes to call them, started following after her.

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura said a word during their trip to the apartments. They were completely silent. Hiroko was a little uneasy with the vibe she felt in the air. It wasn't pleasant in the slightest.

After twenty minutes of walking, the trio arrived at the complex. To say it was large was an understatement. It was enormous. It was a large, rectangular, four story building. It was made out of wood. The design in general had an elegant touch. It looked very traditional but at the same time, modern.

"Well, here we are", Hiroko said with enthusiasm.

The old, silver-haired woman turned to the young kunoichi. "Sakura, dear, would you take that bag to my house? My husband should be home. Tell him, I'm accommodating a new client." She said with a warm smile.

Sakura nodded and headed in the direction of Hiroko's home.

Hiroko then turned to Sasuke. "Follow me to your new apartment."

He started after her as she walked towards a set of stairs. They climbed to the third floor. After passing six doors, Hiroko stopped and opened the door to what is now Sasuke's apartment.

"This is it", she said, entering the large empty space. She flicked the light switch to turn on the lights.

The dark-haired teen looked around. It wasn't half bad. It wasn't too large or too small. It was the perfect size for one person and that's how he liked it.

"There's a futon in the bedroom closet. That will have to suffice for tonight. I know a few people in the furniture department that owe me some favors. I'll see if I can make them go easy on you."

Sasuke was amazed. This woman was being so kind to him and he didn't have the slightest clue as to why. He wasn't particularly used to this kind of treatment from anyone. So why would a stranger help him?

He was too curious. He had to know.

"Why are you being so kind to me? You don't even know me." Sasuke said in an analytical tone.

Hiroko only smiled even wider. "Why, you ask. I know very well who you are. You are Uchiha Sasuke, the son of Uchiha Mikoto."

Sasuke's eyes widen. This woman, Sasaki Hiroko, knew his mother?

"I see you have questions in your eyes." Hiroko smiled and continued. "I watched over your mother when she was a young girl. She was a very spirited child. As she grew, so did her heart. She possessed both beauty and kindness."

Sasuke listened intently as the small old woman spoke.

"When Mikoto and your father, Fugaku, left for missions I would usually take care of you and your brother, Itachi. Back then, you were still a baby. I wouldn't expect you to remember."

"Your parents have done so much for this village. They even saved my life, for which I'm very grateful of. It was a tragedy after hearing about the Uchiha massacre. But when I found out you were left alive, I remembered something important that your mother once told me."

"_Something terrible will happen soon. I want you to take care of my sons. Watch over them until they are grown."_

Sasuke stared at Hiroko with bewilderment on his face. He couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say.

"At the time, I didn't know what Mikoto was talking about. But after the massacre, I realized. It seemed that your mother was always one step ahead of everyone, even your father." She chuckled slightly and averted her eyes at Sasuke.

"She knew." Sasuke whispered quietly.

The room was now quiet. Not a single peep of noise could be heard.

"Well, I couldn't exactly help Itachi in any way, but I still want to fulfill your mother's wish and help you out. It's the least I could do after everything she has done for me."

With that said, she turned to leave. She stopped at the door and turned around to look at Sasuke. "I'll drop your key off in the morning. Good night."

She exited out of the apartment and closed the door after her.

Sasuke was rooted on the spot in the middle of what was the living room. He was still processing what Hiroko had told him. His mom had known about the massacre before it even happened. Then why would she let it…?

He was lost and confused. He didn't move for a few minutes until he heard a light knock on his door. He could only guess who it was. Regardless of knowing, he padded his way over to the door and opened it.

He hadn't realized it had gotten dark as he looked at Sakura standing outside his new apartment.

"Hiroko-san said I should come and talk to you." She stated flatly.

Sasuke raise an eyebrow. Sakura wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was focused on his hand which still rested on the doorknob.

"There's nothing to talk about." He said with agitation.

Sakura looked up and met his dark eyes. They were so cold and penetrating. She wanted to look away but she couldn't. Those eyes were sucking her in like a black hole.

"I'm just trying to help you, Sasuke." She whispered in a low voice.

"Why?" he snapped. "You're the one that said you didn't trust me. So, why help me?"

"Why did you return? What's the real reason?" she asked instead of answering his question.

Sasuke was angry now. He wouldn't tolerate her any longer than he had to. He didn't care if Sakura talked to him or not. He would prefer it if she got off his back.

He didn't answer her question either. It was none of her business.

"Go home, Sakura." He said calmly before slamming the door in her face.

He listened as she let out a curse and stomped away from his doorstep.

He snorted. _How annoying. _

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so the story is starting to move along. I'm trying to have more interaction between Sasuke and Sakura. I promise there will be more in the future. I still have no idea how long this story will be. Sorry if there are any errors. I didnt get much time to re-read it and edit. Plus it's late where I am. :p

Oh and on another note, I wont be updating until next week. I'll be taking a short trip and wont be back until Sunday. So the next chapter should be out sometime in the middle of next week. Anyways, tell me what you think! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Hey there! I know it's been a while since I last updated and I am so sorry. After I came back from my mini vacation, I realized how amazing it was to lounge around and do nothing. Well, I wasn't completely doing nothing. I had a summer assignment I was working on. I'm still working on it. But I had a dream one night that surprisingly inspired me to write. So I got off my lazy butt and wrote this chapter. Hope you enjoy! Oh and thank you to those of you that have been reviewing. It means a lot to me. :)

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 8

The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky at the hottest hour of the day. It hung high, brilliantly illuminating everything below it. That would include a particular ninja village hidden by a mass amount of forestry and leaves.

In said village, Sasuke was walking along the borders of the great wall. Most of the mess has been removed since the destruction. Only few places were cluttered with old belongings and cherished items.

The young Uchiha was currently walking around the area that used to be the Uchiha compound. He wanted to know if anything valuable survived the catastrophe. So far, nothing has caught his eye, only broken dishware, expensive vases and paintings, along with other useless items.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, he sat down under a shady tree with his back against the trunk. One leg was perched up while the other laid flat on the soft earth. He hated to admit it, but the events from earlier had worn him out. He closed his eyes and tired not to focus on the chakra signatures of the guards around him.

Instead, Sasuke's mind drifted to the aching pain on his back just below his neck. Instinctively, his hand reached behind his head to massage the area Tsunade had placed a curse mark. Just as he promised, he visited her office early in the morning so his chakra could be sealed away. Playing the scene in his head, he remembered it to be extremely painful…

_He knocked twice on the wood door to the Hokage's office. As he heard the sturdy voice of the Hokage telling him to enter, he opened the door and walked into the familiar office. _

_Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. It was rare to see her up so early doing paperwork of all things. But considering the seriousness of Sasuke's visit, she thought it would help if she looked professional and equally serious as the situation. _

"_I'm here like you asked", Sasuke said to get rid of the silence in the room._

"_Are you ready for this? I guarantee you that this will be painful. You're going to feel as if your chakra is being sucked out of your body. In reality, it's not. It will only be stored away until I decide you've earned it." Tsunade said as she got up from her seat behind the large desk filled with mountains of paperwork. _

_Sasuke only nodded to show he understood everything she said. _

_The Godaime made her way over to the young Uchiha and stopped when she was directly in front of him. She had him strip down to his boxers so she can make the correct markings on his body. _

_After the marks were sprawled on his body, the Hokage stood behind him as he sat in the center of the circular office. She made numerous amounts of hand signs before placing her hand on the young man's back just below his neck._

_That when Sasuke felt the extreme pain shoot through is body from his neck. It was excruciating. He clamped his eyes shut and clenched his teeth from vocalizing his pain. This reminded him of the time he got the curse mark from Orochimaru. Although this wasn't as painful as that time, it was still hard to bear. It was like someone had thrown one thousand needles into his body._

_A few minutes had passed which felt like hours to Sasuke. The jutsu was finally completed as he collapsed onto the floor. Unlike last time, he didn't pass out. But he felt restrained and vulnerable. _

"_Okay, we're done here. Get your clothes and you can leave", Tsunade said hastily. _

_Sasuke looked up at the ruler of the village only to see her _smiling._ He couldn't believe it! It was like she was happy to cause pain to him. _

_Tsunade looked down at the dark-haired boy. His face twisted into a scowl as he looked up at her. She couldn't help but give him a devilish smile. He deserved so much pain for all the trouble he caused. She may have let him off easy, but this was considered as her personal payback for hurting Naruto and Sakura._

"_You'll feel a little sting for the next week", she said as she walked towards her desk and sat down._

_Standing up and putting his clothes on, Sasuke pointed a harmless glare at the Hokage after he realized she was enjoying his pain. He quickly turned towards the door, opened it and walked out with angry steps. _

Sasuke opened his eyes. This "sting" will last him a week. He, personally, thought that the Hokage was lying. What he felt at that moment wasn't just a sting. It felt like someone was stabbing his back with a kunai knife and twisting it over and over again.

His minded drifted from the pain in his back and focused on his growling stomach. He hadn't eaten anything at all today. Even though he bought groceries, he didn't have the energy to make himself something to eat.

He was about to get up and go home to fix himself something to eat when he heard two familiar voices coming from behind him. He turned his head to side and saw the figures of Naruto and Sakura heading his way. He sighed. Of course those two would show up. They always did when he didn't want them around and that was pretty much never. He closed his eyes again and rested his head against the tree trunk once more. Maybe if he didn't move, they'll just leave him alone.

"Hey, Teme!"

But of course that plan wouldn't work on someone as persistent as Naruto. Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at the two hovering bodies above him. Naruto was giving him the strangest look, as if he had two heads.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" questioned the pink-haired girl standing just a mere step from him.

He narrowed his eyes at both of them without answering Sakura's question. She saw the annoyance in his eyes and looked away. She hadn't forgotten about last night. She was utterly furious with him for just dismissing her the way he did. She had to admit that she had been unfair towards him lately but what else was she supposed to think. Considering his past and all the wrong he had done to her and Naruto, she wasn't going to just believe he was the happy little trooper for coming home to the Leaf Village. She was right to be suspicious and she still was, but she just thought she might as well help him out. After all she still cared, plus she wanted to get on his good side and maybe he would tell her his alternative motive.

"Hey, Sasuke we've been looking for you everywhere! Why are you brooding under a tree all the way out here?" questioned the blonde.

"It's none of your business, Naruto. I don't need to you babysit me and follow me around." He snapped at the boy in front of him. "Neither of you." He added as he looked at the kunoichi.

Sakura glared at him but held her tongue. She had better things to do then argue with Sasuke. He was being a complete jerk. She scoffed and turned around not wanting to look at him anymore. She looked around and noticed the things in her surroundings. It was mostly scattered junk and left over ruins from the destruction. She focused on piece of red fabric that was sticking out of the ground and walked over to it. She kicked the dirt off of it and noticed the Uchiha symbol. She halted her thoughts for a second and looked around and noticed the familiar symbol on many things.

Sakura turned around and looked at the dark-haired boy that was now arguing with Naruto. So this was why he was over here. He wanted to see if anything had survived the destruction. She looked at Sasuke with sympathy in her eyes. He still held the loss of his clan deeply.

Sasuke noticed her eyes on him and looked back at her figure standing a few meters away from him and Naruto. She had a strange look in her eyes that made him feel uneasy. He was tired of her and her annoying behavior lately. He couldn't read her as easily as he used to. So he never knew when she would snap at him or be nice to him. Either way, it was annoying.

Sakura saw the look he was giving her and snapped out of the trance she was in. She shot him a glare before averting her eyes to something else that was not him.

Once again, Sakura had successfully confused him and annoyed him with her glares and the soft look she was sporting earlier.

"So I was thinking we should go to Ichiraku and…Sasuke! Are you even listening to me, Teme?" Naruto growled noticing the bored look on the Uchiha's face.

Sasuke wanted to hit the blonde for yelling at him. He was going to when he heard his stomach growl once again.

"See? You're hungry! Now let's go to Ichiraku and eat some ramen!" the blonde demanded with a cheery smile on his face.

Sasuke was about to protest but stopped when he heard his stomach let out a painful growl again. "Fine", he snapped. "But you're paying."

Naruto broke into protest about the idea of paying but he wasn't really paying attention. He let his gaze wander to Sakura momentarily. She was walking towards him and the idiot that was rambling.

"Naruto, would you just shut up already." Sakura reprimanded. "You're paying and that's final. Plus, you owe me for the last time you managed to sneak off. You almost completely emptied my wallet." She said in a rough tone.

Naruto laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head. He knew he was busted. "Fine." He sighed in defeat. "Now come on! I'm hungry." He shouted before taking off.

Sakura rolled her eyes at her overly hyper teammate. She then turned to Sasuke. "Are you coming?" she asked blankly.

He nodded before slowly getting up and walking off with the annoying girl beside him.

* * *

A cloaked figure watched the retreating couple from the tree branch he was perched on just outside the village walls. He was hidden by the shadow of the leaves above him and the dark cloak he wore. Soon, a wicked smile adorned his face as he stared at the young Uchiha as he walked to the makeshift village that was still under reconstruction.

The boy had been foolish enough to return to this pathetic excuse of a village. He should have known the dark-haired boy would succumb to the idiotic words of the blonde jinchuuriki. He hated to admit it, but Naruto had a way with words that could draw anyone to his side almost instantly. But even that can't stop this mysterious stranger from acquiring his goals, which mainly included the dark-haired boy.

That's right. He had plans for Sasuke and he wasn't going to let anything or _anyone_ ruin it. His cynical eyes shifted to the kunoichi that was walking beside Sasuke. She might be insignificant now, but he had a feeling that she would be useful in the future. Sasuke himself didn't know it, but Sakura would soon be a big influence to him.

The dark figure snickered with an evil intent behind his hidden eyes. It was only a matter of time until he could put his plan into action. He just had to wait for the perfect moment and then Sasuke would be _his_. The mystery person snickered with an evil glint in his hidden eyes. He turned away and soon disappeared from the branch he was on.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you liked it. It wasn't much but I figure I owe you something. Anyways, I know I'm still writing this story, but I have another idea swimming around in my head. I'm not sure if I want to write it down. I want to finish this story before starting a new one... Please Review! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Hello there again! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I appreciate those of you who are being patient. I want to thank those of you who have been reviewing. I really appreciate it and it makes me super happy! Here's the next chapter of Learning to Live. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 9

It had been two weeks since Sasuke officially moved in to his apartment. So far, he had been spending most of his time cooped up in his now furnished living quarters. He only left when he was hungry or when he thought he needed fresh air. The people of the village still treated him as if was the plague. They resented him, for the most part. That's probably the main reason he stayed in his apartment all day.

Right now, he was looking through some old scrolls he managed to find after going back to the Uchiha ruins. They were dirty and half of the script was hard to read with all of the dirt and moisture on them.

There was nothing special about them. They were just some old jutsus that the clan thought was important. Most of it was basic fire techniques.

The dark-haired boy let out a deep sigh. He was tired of doing nothing all day. He felt useless when he didn't have anything to do.

Deciding enough was enough; he got up and decided to go for a walk. Maybe he could find the loud-mouthed blond and train with him. Sasuke could use the long needed exercise.

* * *

The village was crowded today. The streets were filled with bustling bodies trying to get along with their daily business.

Sakura released a long tired sigh. She had finished her double shift at the hospital fifteen minutes prior. Nothing was ever easy anymore. Since the war ended, there had been plenty of injured shinobi to treat. The hospital hasn't calmed down a bit since it was rebuilt. There were too many things to do. There were too many patients to treat and too much paperwork that needed to be done. That's what's killing Sakura; the endless amount of paperwork. She almost felt like Tsunade.

Now, walking through the busy streets, Sakura had nothing in mind but her nice and comfy bed. A long overdue sleep was needed.

She turned a small corner to get out of the busy streets only to run into something hard and firm. Before she knew it, Sakura was tumbling backwards until her bottom crashed against the earthy floor. Looking up to apologize to the person she just ran into, Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke standing above her.

He looked down at her with a blank gaze. He had spent the last hour looking for Naruto. Running into Sakura wasn't what he had expected. She was still sitting on the floor and the look she was giving him could easily match his blank gaze he was giving her.

Clearing his throat, he finally thought of something to say. "Are you going to sit there all day? You're blocking my path." He snapped out.

Snapping out of her gaze towards him, Sakura's expression instantly changed from blank to furious. What the hell? That's all he had to say? He uttered no apology whatsoever and that made Sakura angry. He didn't even offer to help her get up. Running into a pole would have been so much better.

Gathering herself, she finally managed to get up on her feet. She dusted herself off and stared at him directly into his cold eyes. "Excuse me?" she bit out. "But you're blocking _my _path." She said with a slightly shaken voice.

Sasuke was a bit taken back by her anger. He didn't do anything wrong. Why should he apologize when she ran into him? She was just being her confusing self and he didn't want to deal with that. Thinking of stepping her around her, a thought came to mind. He has been trying to find Naruto without any luck. The only other close person to Naruto was Sakura. She might have an idea where the blonde idiot was.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked monotonously.

Sakura glared at him. Of course he was trying to change the subject. "Why do you need Naruto?" she questioned back at him.

Sasuke was hoping that Sakura would just tell her where Naruto was so he could just leave. He didn't want to talk any more than he had to, especially if it was to her. Scoffing, he managed to mutter something. "I need a sparring partner. I was hoping to train with him."

The anger from Sakura's eyes disappeared momentarily. "Naruto was summoned by the Elder Sage Toad. I'm not sure when he's going to be back."

Sasuke looked irritated by the fact Sakura provided for him. Remembering something, she decided to address him. "Sasuke, you can't train right now. Tsunade sealed all of your chakra."

"She didn't seal all of it, just most of it. I have a low supply right now." He didn't even know why he was telling her that. He was trying to avoid a conversation with Sakura, but she kept talking to him when he just wanted to leave.

Looking at Sakura, he could see a small smile graze her lips. That was completely unexpected. What was her deal anyway? One minute she's glaring and the next she's smiling? She couldn't be any more confusing to him.

Annoyed by her expression, Sasuke snapped. "What?" he growled.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that if you fought Naruto right now, you would lose real bad." Her small smile remained on her lips as she said this.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her. He let out a sharp snort to let her know how much he thought that was the craziest thing he heard. "I highly doubt that. I could beat that idiot with or without chakra."

Obviously, her statement sparked some anger in the Uchiha in front of her. Her small smile now turned into a smirk as she ignored the glare he was throwing at her. "Face it Sasuke, you're at a weak state right now. You couldn't even beat _me_ right now."

Sasuke almost wanted to laugh. There was no way Sakura could beat him. She had always been too weak and he doubt that changed. But he couldn't exactly ignore the automatic challenge. Plus, he had been looking for a sparring partner. Fighting the pink-haired kunoichi might give him the action he needed, no matter how small.

"Are you suggesting we spar, Sakura?"

Her smirk widened. "Only if you're up to it."

Sasuke gave her a smirk of his own as he replied. "Lead the way to the training grounds."

Sakura nodded and turned around, starting towards training ground three. As her feet glided through the streets, she could feel energy surging through her. Running into Sasuke had made all of her tiredness disappear.

* * *

Training ground three hadn't changed at all. It looked exactly the same as it had when Team 7 had first trained there.

Looking at the three posts, Sasuke felt nostalgic. He instantly pictured a twelve year old Naruto tied to the middle post. The thought brought a smirk to his face.

Sakura saw the look on Sasuke's face and couldn't help but to smile. It seemed like his mind was off in the distant, like he was remembering something.

"Ready to begin?" she asked him calmly.

"What are the rules?"

Sakura thought about it for a second. Sasuke wasn't at his full strength, so there wasn't much damage he could do. She on the other hand, had more power minus the slight depletion of chakra from work.

"Anything goes, except death…" she said, the last part coming out in a low murmur.

Sasuke felt uneasy at the last part of her statement. They _both_ had tried to kill each other before. Fighting each other now is going to be difficult since they're on the same side now. He know Sakura won't kill him now, but the thought that she was willing to before and attempted to made him slightly upset. He couldn't exactly kill her either. One, it didn't seem like the right thing to do anymore and two; ANBU guards were still watching him. They would probably kill him on the spot for murdering the Hokage's student.

Nodding, Sasuke walked across the wide training ground. He had put enough distance between him and the kunoichi.

Twenty meters away, Sakura readied herself. She knew Sasuke didn't have enough chakra to perform big jutsus. Most of his attacks would have to be Taijutsu. That would be fine considering that's her strong point. One thing that worried her was whether or not he could use the sharingan. She could easily dispel a genjutsu but his optical power was strong.

A minute had passed since both shinobi had taken their stance. A soft summer breeze passed by making the trees swish. Sakura focused on Sasuke's form. He was standing still. As soon as the breeze stopped, he vanished.

Her eyes widened before she closed them. She listened intently on her surroundings. Sasuke was quick, so she had to be prepared for when he came. A few seconds later, her eyes snapped open and she turned around to block the fist coming towards her. She caught his fist momentarily only push off of them sending her figure flying backwards.

Sasuke stood still as Sakura came running towards him with a fist aimed at his head. He waited until the last minute to dodge her punch. He stepped to the side and let her momentum throw her body behind him.

Sakura managed to flip herself over before landing on her feet. She didn't waste a single second to charge at his back. She got ready to kick him. He quickly turned around and gripped her ankle, stopping her attack. He swung her around and let go of her ankle, sending her flying.

Heading towards a tree, Sakura willed her body to turn and managed to kick off of it. She landed on her feet on the ground. She crouched down several meters away from Sasuke.

Sakura mentally cursed. She didn't have any ninja gear on her today. She had to rely on her fist and whatever ninjutsu she had.

A second later, Sasuke disappeared from her line of vision. She stood up straight and listened for his footsteps. Soon enough, she heard Sasuke coming at her from above. She didn't have enough time to get away so she made a familiar hand sign.

Sasuke, midair, summoned a windmill shuriken with the little chakra he had. He aimed for Sakura and threw the giant weapon towards her frame. Instead of Sakura, the windmill hit a log.

_Substitution, _Sasuke thought. He landed on the branch of a tree and listened for Sakura. Her chakra signature was masked well, so he couldn't detect her.

A few seconds later, he felt the presence of her behind him. Instead of her heading towards him, he felt her going deeper into the forest. She had a plan and he knew whatever she had in mind, he could counter it. He kicked off of the tree branch and followed the medic-nin.

Sakura waited for Sasuke. It would be easier to take him down if she were hidden behind a mass amount of leaves instead of being open in a large clearing. She knew Sasuke was following her. That's exactly what she wants.

Soon enough, she felt his presence right behind her. She immediately turned around and aimed a punch at him. He managed to barely block her powerful fists. He was instantly sent flying backwards from the momentum. He flipped over midair and landed on his feet. He soon used his super speed to appear behind her. He kicked her back and watched as his blow sent her towards a tree. She hit the tree hard but managed to regain her stance. She quickly charged towards Sasuke with a series of chakra induced punches. He managed to block all of them while stepping back.

Soon enough, his back came hard against a tree trunk. Sakura's fist came at him with full force. He ducked while Sakura's fist cracked through the trunk of the tree, breaking it. Sasuke jumped away from the pink-haired girl and watched as the tree fell back.

Trying to gather up enough chakra, Sasuke formed a series of hand signs. "Katon-Goukakyuu no Jutsu."

The great fireball headed towards Sakura but she jumped out of the way. She jumped up on the high branches of a tree to avoid the fire. Soon, she jumped off of the branch and aimed a kick at Sasuke from above. Sasuke, seeing her attack, disappeared from her aim.

Sakura's foot came crashing down onto the hard earth, causing a large crater to appear. The force of her foot made the forest floor shake.

Behind a tree, Sasuke was taken aback by her strength. Where the hell did she get this monstrous strength from? He couldn't afford to lose more chakra. He barely had any when he first started out, now he was close to zero. He was getting tired way too fast.

Looking around the trunk of the tree he was hidden behind, he saw no sign of the medic-nin. Turning around, his face came in contact with Sakura's fist. Her punch sent him flying through a tree and into another one.

Sakura came at him once more. With the little strength he had, he got up and quickly avoided her next punch. The impact caused the tree he was leaning against to snap in half.

She charged at him again and they soon started to engage in a fast pace of taijutsu. Sasuke was avoiding Sakura's punches and kicks while throwing in his own as well. He managed to punch the side of her ribs. That was an advantage for him. While she leaned over in pain, he attempted to kick her down, but her forearms blocked his attack.

She stood up and kicked his side, sending him flying again towards a tree. Sasuke landed hard against the tree. Instead of getting up, he let his body go limp.

Curious, Sakura slowly walked towards him. "Sasuke?" she called out. "Are you okay?" She was approaching him slowly, thinking it might be a trick. Soon, she was a meter in front of him.

She was starting to worry. She didn't think Sasuke would easily fall against her attack. He was stronger than that. Reaching an arm out towards him, she tried to shake him. As her hand was close to his shoulder, Sasuke's hand reached out and gripped her wrist. His eyes snapped open and instead of dark pools, Sakura saw blood red before her eyes drooped close. _Damn it, _she thought before falling into the genjutsu.

_Everything around her was black. She didn't seem to be standing on any solid ground. She was just floating in midair, surrounded by darkness. _

"_Sakura-chan!"_

_That was definitely Naruto's voice. But she didn't know where it was coming from. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere all at once. _

_She knew this was a genjutsu and she was surprised that Sasuke would trap her in a low-rated one. She formed the appropriate hand sand. _

"_Kai." She muttered. Soon enough, the darkness was fading._

Sakura opened her eyes. A minute had passed since Sasuke trapped her. She looked around but couldn't see him anywhere in sight.

Sasuke on the other hand was having trouble. It took a lot of energy for him to use his sharingan and trap her in a genjutsu. After a while, he came out of his hiding spot and started towards the pink-haired girl.

Sakura saw Sasuke coming and they soon engaged in another taijutsu fight. She was losing chakra and her tiredness from earlier was catching up to her.

Sakura landed a blow in Sasuke's ribs. He landed on his back and attempted to get up when a foot landed on his chest. The force of Sakura's foot was crushing him and he didn't have enough energy to get her off of him. He looked up to see a smirking Sakura.

He closed his eyes momentarily before opening them once more. He wills himself to use whatever strength he had to win this fight. He uses his arm to sweep Sakura's foot off of him.

Taken back by his movement, Sakura landed on her back. Less than a second later, Sasuke's hands gripped her wrist while he straddled her hips with his knees. Sakura looked up to see the Uchiha hovering above her with a sly smirk on his face. "I win."

Sakura gave him an annoyed look before she gave him a smirk of her own. "I don't think so, Uchiha."

His eyes widened as Sakura's body disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to be replaced by a log.

He instantly turned around only to be thrown back by the intense blow to the cheek he received from Sakura.

His body landed on the ground and slid back from the momentum. A second later, his body was flipped over so he was lying on his stomach. Sakura grabbed both of his arms and twisted it behind his back. To top off her victory, she sat on top of him, forcing him to be immobile.

"I win." She said victoriously.

From under her, she could hear Sasuke growling into the dirt. Sakura let out a small chuckle before getting off of the dark-haired boy.

The Uchiha turned his body to side and sat up in a sitting position. He had a deep scowl on his face. He just lost a sparring match to _Sakura. _She was the weakest member of Team 7 and she had _beaten_ him.

He tried to get up but then he felt a sharp pain in his ribs where Sakura had kicked him earlier. He was pretty sure they were cracked. He didn't even want to think about the nasty bruise that was probably starting to appear on his cheek from where he had been punched.

Seeing his uneasiness, Sakura decided to help him. It had been nice to hurt him after he had doubted her strength. She finally proved him wrong.

She walked over to his sitting form and kneeled down in front of him. She reached out to heal his cheek only to have her hand slapped away by his.

Sakura saw the pointed glare he shot her but ignored it. "Sasuke, stop being a sore loser and let me heal you." She said with an edgy voice.

He only averted his gaze to the floor in response. Sakura rolled her eyes and reached out for his cheek once more. This time, he didn't slap her hand away. _That's better_, Sakura thought.

Sasuke felt her warm chakra course through his cheek. It had a nice feeling to it. He could feel the pain in his cheek residing more and more. He closed his eyes and let the warmth take over.

A minute later, he felt Sakura's chakra stop. He looked over at her. She was staring at him directly.

"Lift up you shirt so I can heal your ribs."

He gave her a quizzical look before looking away from her.

Sakura looked annoyed by his actions. "Sasuke, I know they hurt. I'm the one that kicked you. So, stop being stubborn and just let me heal you quickly."

Sighing, Sasuke lifted up his shirt to reveal a dark bruise that was starting to from around his cracked ribs. Sakura applied chakra to her palm and then to his ribs. Once again, Sasuke felt the warmth of her chakra and soon enough, the pain was going away.

"There, I'm done." Sakura said as she backed away from him.

The Uchiha got up from the ground and dusted himself off. He looked over at Sakura who was smirking at him. He glared at her and turned away.

Sakura let out a small laugh at his behavior. He was still being a sore loser. "Oh come on, Sasuke. I told you I was going to beat you. How long are you going to act like that?"

"I would have won if I had all my powers." He snapped back.

"I thought you said you could beat me with or without your chakra." The pink-haired kunoichi retorted.

What she said was right and he knew it. He just growled and started walking back towards the streets of Konoha. Sakura chuckled and followed him.

Sakura couldn't be happier than she is right now. She finally beat Sasuke in a match and the best part was that he was pouting over it. He just wouldn't accept the fact that she beat him fair and square.

Sasuke seemed to open up a little bit more, even if it was just sparring. He showed some emotion that she hadn't seen in a while. Slowly, he was coming around. Maybe there is hope for her team. Maybe things could go back to being normal, or even better than normal. Sakura knew she was just hoping right now. Things might not turn out that way, but she's not going to give up hope.

She still had a lot of things to figure out about Sasuke but that could wait for another day. Right now she was exhausted from work and sparring. She couldn't wait to go home and have a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** So this chapter was pretty much Sasuke/Sakura. There's going to be more of that in the future chapters. Also, I will include other characters from the rest of the gang. I haven't forgotten about them. They're not needed right now though.

On another note, I kind of have this other SasuSaku idea floating in my head right now. It's been there for a while and I'm not sure if I should start a new fic. I might just start writing it, but not posting it. I dont't want to focus on more than one story right now since I'm so busy all the time.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Please REVIEW :)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Hello again! I know it's been a long time since I last updated and I sincerely apologize. My only excuse is that I've been super busy. I don't even have time for myself. But this chapter is longer than usual so I hope it makes up for the long wait. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 10

Sakura walked down the quiet streets just as the sun was rising. She took long slow strides as she walked towards the Hokage tower. Tsunade had called a messenger to get her.

Releasing a long yawn, she stretched her arms and cursed the Hokage in silence. What could be so important, that the blonde woman had to ruin her perfect sleep?

"Wow. You look terrible!" came a high shrill voice.

Sakura rolled her eyes. The only thing that could worsen her mood was Ino.

"Gee, thanks." Sakura muttered back with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Without waiting for a snappy remark from the blonde girl, Sakura immediately changed the subject. "Ino, what are you doing up so early?"

"I don't have any missions, so I'm helping out my mom with the shop. Yamato-san did a great job with the structure."

Sakura walked over to the display of flowers Ino was setting up outside the front of the shop. There were many carnations of different colors. Along with the carnations, were various lilies and forget-me-nots.

"These look great." the pink-haired kunoichi said with a soft smile on her face. "I assume business is running well again?"

Ino set down a pot of daisies and walked over to her closest friend. "Yeah. Things are starting to look up. My mom's real happy about it too." she said with a soft smile. Turning to Sakura, Ino questioned the med-nin. "Where are you going?"

"I'm heading towards the Hokage's office. Tsunade sent someone for me even though she told me to take the day off."

Ino laughed out loud. "Tsunade-sama is working you hard, huh?"

"That's not funny, Pig!" snapped the pink-haired girl.

"Relax, Forehead. I'm sure Tsunade-sama has something important for you to do."

"She better." Sakura muttered. I better go before she gets mad. I'll see you later, Ino." Sakura said as she walked away from the flower shop.

"Maybe we can have lunch later today. Shikamaru and Chouji are on missions and I haven't seen you in a while." Ino shouted.

"Yeah, that sounds good! I'll stop by later."

Sakura waved at Ino one last time before she turned around and walked away.

She reached the Hokage tower ten minutes later. By then the sun was just above the horizon and the village was starting to wake up.

She slowly climbed the stairs and walked down the bent hallway to Tsunade's office. Arriving at the big red door, Sakura stopped and knocked twice. She heard Tsunade's voice of approval before she opened the door and entered the office.

Sakura was surprised to see her entire team standing in Tsunade's office. Everyone was scattered all over the room. Kakashi was leaning against the wall behind Tsunade while Yamato was standing three feet from him. Sai was standing in front of Tsunade's desk. Naruto sat on the arm of the couch in the corner of the room, while Sasuke leaned against the left wall.

"Sakura-chan!" Shouted her crazy blonde teammate. Naruto ran over and gave her the tightest hug.

Sakura laughed and was woken up immediately. "It's good to see you too, Naruto."

He let go of her while she fully entered to office and closed the door behind her.

"It's good to see that you finally showed up."

Sakura turned towards the monotonous voice of her queer teammate, Sai. As always, his fake smile was apparent on his face. Though, it seems more real now compared to how it used to be when he first met Team 7.

Ignoring the dry remark, Sakura turned towards the woman who trained her. "Why am I here on my day off?"

Tsunade looked as if she just realized something. Her eyes widened. "Oops. I might have forgotten about that." she said as she gave a nervous laugh.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She should have known her teacher would forget after telling her the night before. Tsunade probably had a few drinks after telling her.

"Not to be rude, but why are we all here?" Kakashi finally chimed in.

"You should be asking the Uchiha instead of me."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in annoyance as everyone's eyes landed on him. He didn't feel like talking at the moment. Actually he never felt like talking at all.

Tsunade chuckled as she saw his stubborn expression. "Sasuke has been complaining about not having anything to do for the past few days."

Naruto burst out laughing. He nearly lost his balance and fell to the floor. Sasuke pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and walked over to Naruto. He smacked the back of the blonde's head. That action actually made Naruto fall down.

"Oww..." muttered the blonde.

Naruto soon forgot the pain at the back of his head and quickly stood up. He gave a brief laugh. "Sasuke not having anything to do and him complaining about it? That's priceless."

Naruto was soon on the ground again as he got hit in the head again by Sasuke. "Say another word, and you'll be bleeding." The dark-haired teen growled.

"Cut it out you two." Sakura reprimanded. That didn't really stop either one of them. It was too early to deal with all of this. She was woken up and called here because Sasuke was bored? What kind of world is she living in?

"Tsunade-sama, what does this have to do with any of us?" Sai said over the fighting boys.

"Naruto and Sasuke, quit it!" Ordered the Hokage. Both boys immediately stopped their arguing and turned towards the leader of Konoha.

"To answer your question, Sai, I was thinking of reinstating Team 7."

Silence. Nobody made any movement nor was there a single sound to be heard. Sasuke himself was surprised. It was true that he had nothing to do. But he didn't know what the Hokage was thinking. He was a little unsure whether or not he wanted to be part of Team 7 again. He still had a certain goal in mind and that didn't involve the current members or Team 7. Naruto is the only exception to that thought.

"Kakashi." Tsunade stated. "Would you be interested in Sasuke being part of your team again?"

The silver haired shinobi looked amused. His expression soon changed to that of a carefree one. He looked around at the people in the room and finally, his eyes landed on the Uchiha. He smiled at the boy that reminded him of himself. "Of course." He stated simply.

Tsunade nodded. She then turned to Sasuke. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He couldn't exactly say no. That would look bad and he didn't want to make the hole he was already in any bigger.

"Aa" he simply replied.

"Great! Then it's settled. Uchiha Sasuke is now part of Team Kakashi." Tsunade said triumphantly while scribbling some words on a piece of paper.

"Sasuke, you won't be able to go on any real missions for a while. You're still a genin." she continued while looking at what she just wrote down. "The same thing goes for you Naruto! You're still a genin."

"What? I stopped an entire war and you still want me to do D-rank missions? That's a load of crap baa-chan." Naruto protested, flinging his arms in the air.

A vain popped out of Tsunade's forehead. "What did you call me?" she said in a menacingly low voice.

Naruto's figure moved back in fear while he put his hands before him in defense. "Hehe s-s-sorry Tsunade-sama." the blonde said nervously.

The Hokage calmed down and ignored Naruto's rude nickname for her. "You'll do as I say. No more high ranked missions for a while." She turned towards the stoic Uchiha in the corner of the room who hasn't said a single word. "I have something to cure your boredom, Uchiha."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Tsunade's facial expression twisted into a demonic smile. "As I recall, you have one year of community service."

The dark-haired teen's face fell. His mood was all of a sudden darkened.

Naruto burst out laughing. "That's what you get for leaving the village, Teme!"

"Tsunade's wicked smile stayed plastered on her face as she looked at Naruto. "Naruto, you're going to be doing the same thing as well. That's the only D-rank missions we have."

The blonde boy sank into despair.

Ignoring the sulking jinchuriki, Tsunade continued speaking. "Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai, you all know what you have to do. I discussed the details of your mission before these three arrived." She gestured to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. She turned back to Kakashi. "You're dismissed."

As soon as those words were uttered, there were three puffs of smoke in the place where the other members of Team Kakashi were standing.

"As for you three, you need to head towards the outskirts of the village near the forest on the west side. A special guest is waiting for you. You must do as he pleases. That's your mission. Good luck."

Remembering something, the Hokage turned towards the female member of the group. "Sakura, you don't have to go. You were supposed to have the day off, correct?"

"How come Sakura-chan doesn't have to do it?" Naruto whined.

Sakura sweat dropped. How on earth was she supposed to get any rest now? She was fully awake and even if she did try, she knew she wouldn't be able to sit at home and do nothing all day.

"It's fine. I'll tag along with these two." the kunoichi replied before her obnoxious teammate could go on about her not having to do the same task.

"Alright. Now you can all get out of my office!" Tsunade barked.

The trio quickly shuffled out of the room.

* * *

The streets were now bustling with busy shoppers and townspeople as the young group of shinobi left the Hokage building. The sun was now above the horizon, shining brightly over the village. All in all, it was another ordinary morning in Konoha.

"Geez! I can't believe Tsunade-baachan is making me do community service. You'd think she'd give the village hero more respect." complained a very upset Naruto.

"Stop whining Naruto. This shouldn't be hard for someone like you. Would you rather sit around and do nothing, like Sasuke?" Sakura said with a slight smirk on her face.

Sasuke scoffed after hearing that little comment. "I won't be nothing anymore." he muttered under his breath.

"Look who's whining now!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'm not whining, you idiot." Sasuke snapped.

"Yeah, you are. But I kind of feel bad for you, Sasuke. You have to do community service for an entire year. Sucks for you, Teme." Naruto was grinning like an idiot at the thought of Sasuke doing manual labor that didn't involve shinobi work.

"It's not that bad, Naruto." Sakura said. "Besides, you have to do that too. You have nothing else to do."

"But you're doing the same thing we are, Sakura-chan. How are you not upset?"

Sakura let out a small laugh. "I don't have to do this. I take care of things at the hospital. Besides, today's my day off."

"Oh come on! Medical ninjas have it so easy. I don't see what the big deal is."

Naruto didn't know how it happened, but he was flying through the air with a stinging feeling at the side of his cheek. Before he knew it, he crashed into cart filled with cabbage. Fake tears were running down his swollen cheek. "W-what was that f-for, S-Sakura-chan?" the blonde boy stuttered.

Sakura walked over to Naruto. She looked down at him with a menacing smile on her face. "If it weren't for us medical ninjas, you'd be dead by now, baka!" she said in a low voice.

Naruto's expression looked like he just saw a ghost. "G-gomen, Sakura-chan."

Behind them, Sasuke sweat dropped. He's seen Sakura fight before, and that enough made him want to stay out of trouble with the pink-haired kunoichi. Naruto was an idiot too.

Sakura smiled at Naruto and helped him up. Her expression changed from that of a demon to a cheerful school girl. "Let's go guys." She walked passed Sasuke and headed towards the outskirts of town, towards the forest.

Both boys stared at her back for a minute before they started following her.

"Sakura-chan can be really scary sometimes." Naruto whined. He was rubbing the bruise that was starting to appear on his cheek.

"You're lucky you don't have to feel her wrath, Sasuke."

"Hn. I wouldn't say that."

Naruto looked at the Uchiha boy with utter confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Sasuke was not going to waste time trying to explain this to Naruto.

"Oh, come on! Please tell me!" The jinchuriki practically screamed in Sasuke's ears.

Instead of answering Naruto's cries, Sasuke just ignored the blonde and kept walking. He stared at Sakura's back which was quite a distance ahead of him and his obnoxious teammate.

Teammate. It felt weird to use that word again. Sasuke hadn't been part of team seven in five years. It felt strange. But deep down, Sasuke knew that some part of him, no matter how small, was relieved and satisfied. He had comfort again. He had the reassurance of people who care about him.

Well almost. He was still unsure about Sakura. Her feelings towards him have been like a rollercoaster. One day she was acting cold and the next day she was nice and carefree. He didn't understand her at all. But he was sure that Sakura wouldn't treat him like she did years ago.

Sasuke realized that he got the same treatment as Naruto. In a way, that was satisfying. Sakura no longer fawned over him and he was completely okay with that.

Her cold treatment, however, was a little unsettling. He wasn't used to it. He wasn't used to her acting indifferent around him. He wasn't used to her cold stare. He wasn't used to her monotonous tone. It just wasn't Sakura. This girl didn't jump all over him or cry for the smallest issue. This girl that was walking in front of him was like a new person, like a stranger. In a way, it did make sense. Sasuke never knew anything about Sakura except the fact that she was an annoying person that loved to provoke him to no end.

As he kept staring at the pink-haired kunoichi, he realized how far away she had gone. Not only in distance, but from him as well.

* * *

Hammers pounding against hard wood could be heard as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura arrived near the forest on the outskirts of town. Entering the clearing, the group of shinobi saw various ninjas sawing wood in half and dragging their pieces to the other side of the clearing where it was being used to build the structure of a bridge.

Looking around, Sakura saw three familiar faces near the river. Two were moving a large piece of log, while the other was directing them where to go. She was going to call out to them, but it seemed like Naruto had beat her to it.

"Hinata-chan! Kiba! Shino! Over here!" Naruto was waving his arm, flapping them all over the place. It was as if he couldn't get their attention with his ridiculously loud voice.

Surprised by the sudden shout, Kiba dropped the end of the log he was carrying. It managed to squish his toes. Shino struggled to hold the log by himself. He wobbled for a second before dropping the heavy wood onto the ground. It made a loud thud.

"Ahhh, Naruto! You freaking, asshole. Look what you did! Kiba shouted out in pain. He dropped to the floor clutching his injured foot.

"Kiba-kun, are you alright?" came the soft but worried voice of Hinata.

Naruto laughed as he and his two teammates approached the boy sitting in pain on the ground. "Hehe, sorry..."

"Hi, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san. What are you all doing here?" Hinata greeted the trio as they approached her and her pain-stricken teammate.

"Well Teme here has to do community service, so I'm just tagging along", Naruto replied without thinking of the consequences.

Soon enough, he received a smack in the back of his head from Sasuke.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the two idiots in front of her. Naruto never learns his lesson and Sasuke was way too temperamental. "_Both _of them are here to work", she made sure to emphasize that Naruto and Sasuke were going to be helping out.

"Are you guys going to stop yapping or are you going to help me?" Kiba was still on the ground writhing in pain as his fellow comrades, or supposed comrades continued to idly chat to one another.

"Oh, Kiba-kun! I'm so sorry", Hinata cried as she turned to her teammate. She was going to crouch down and help him until a hand stopped her. She looked to the side to see Sakura sticking her hand out before her.

"It's fine, Hinata. I got it." Sakura bent down on her knees and began healing the nasty bruise that was starting to appear on Kiba's foot. He relaxed as her chakra started to take away the pain along with the throbbing feeling he had.

Standing up, Kiba playfully put an arm around Sakura's shoulder. "Thank you, Sakura! At least _someone_ cares about my well being", he said while glaring at the blonde boy that caused his pain.

"Stop complaining. You sound like an old hag on menopause." Naruto lazily put his arms behind his head and started chuckling at his own little joke.

Hinata turned scarlet red at the inappropriate comment, while Shino shook his head.

Kiba, on the other hand lost his cool and started arguing with the hyperactive blonde, while his arm was still draped over Sakura's shoulder. Sakura was having a blast out of this. She couldn't control the giggles that escaped her lips. It's been a while since she last saw something like this. For the past couple of months, everyone has been in a serious mood with everything that has happened. From the destruction of the village to a world war, it was no wonder everyone has been stressed. But seeing Naruto and Kiba throw insults at each other and bright faced Hinata, made it seem that things were starting to go back to the way it used to be. She might have some issues with her own team and a certain someone, but right at this moment, she was content.

Off to the side, Sasuke observed the scene with a distasteful expression. The group in front of him were complete idiots. Aburame Shino was muttering to himself about something. The Hyuuga girl was red as a tomato and flustered by the two guys barking words at each other. Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba were at it like cats and dogs. It made sense. He remembered Kiba as the guy who carried around his dog on top of his head. Sasuke looked at the teen and realized there was no dog on his head. However, he did notice that dog boy's arm was still around Sakura who was laughing at the bickering boys.

Sakura looked happy, he noticed. It's been a while since he saw her laugh and smile. That was the Sakura he knew before. Apparently, she didn't show him that side of her anymore. She was either indifferent or angry. This seemed to aggravate him more. That thought made him scold himself. He couldn't care less about this. He needed to be focused on his goal. So far, nothing has happened, which is starting to make him antsy.

"What a lively group we have here." A new voice made everyone stop what they were doing and turn around to see who had joined them.

Naruto squinted his eyes momentarily before realization dawned on him. "Old-man Tazuna!"

"Hey, what about me. Did you forget me, Naruto-neechan." A young boy stepped out from behind the bridge builder, Tazuna.

"Inari! What are you guys doing here?"

"Hehe. We heard your village needed some repairing, so we decided to help." Inari looked older and more mature since the last time he saw Team 7. He turned to the other two members of Team 7. "It's nice to see you too Sasuke-neechan. Sakura-neechan has gotten really pretty too", he said with a slight blush and a wide grin on his face.

Sakura smiled warm heartedly at the younger boy. "It's good to see the both of you here. Thank you for your support."

"Are you the one that we're supposed to meet? The Hokage told us someone was waiting for us here", Sasuke spoke up for the first time in a while.

Tazuna raised his head and smiled. "Ah, yes! Tsunade-sama told me that you guys were going to come sooner or later. And here you are. I need some help with this bridge and it seems like some people can't get it done quick enough", his attention turned to Kiba.

The shaggy-haired boy grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hey, it was Naruto's fault! He's the one that distracted me."

At that, the jinchuriki growled at Kiba. The two of them started arguing once again.

Tazuna let out a joyful laugh. He enjoyed watching the youngsters. "Anyways, I need you guys to start working. It's still early. Once we're done here, we'll head back to the village and work on some main buildings. Those guys by the river know what to do. Just ask them for help if you need it." He gestured to three men on the other side of the clearing. "Come find me when you're done." He waved a hand in the air before turning on his heels.

"Bye Naruto-neechan!" Inari waved goodbye to everyone else and ran to catch up to his grandpa.

The young group of shinobi watched the descending backs of the bridge builder and his grandson. They remained quiet for a minute before Naruto interrupted.

"Alright! Time to get to work." He paused for a second and looked around with a confused face. "So what do we have to do?"

Everyone sweat dropped. Was he serious? Did he just not listen to what Tazuna said?

"Naruto-kun, we start by taking those logs over there and transporting them to river over there." Hinata pointed to where the three men Tazuna had brought with him stood. "After that, we follow their instructions on how to build the bridge."

"Thanks Hinata-chan. Oi, Sasuke, come help me. You need to do this more than I do."

The dark-haired boy glared at Naruto for a while before he stalked off the other side of the clearing where the logs were.

"Oi, Teme! Where are you going? Wait for me", Naruto hollered as he ran to catch up with Sasuke.

"Man, this is going to be a long day", Kiba muttered as started in the direction the other two boys. "Come on, Shino." Said boy followed his teammate to the other side of the clearing.

"Some things never change, now do they?" Sakura turned to Hinata. "I feel like Naruto and Kiba will never grow up, but they're always reliable, Shino too."

"Indeed they are. I think Naruto-kun is fine the way he is." Hinata's cheeks started heating up as she said this.

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the girl. She's been in love with Naruto for years. She never gave up and even managed to confess to him. Sakura was proud of the person Hinata had turned into.

"I also think that S-Sasuke-san i-is reliable as well." At this, Hinata stuttered a bit. Sakura wasn't sure if she was saying that because it was true or because she was kind enough to acknowledge the Sharingan user. Either way, Sakura didn't answer. She was still having a hard time with Sasuke. They hardly ever talk and when they do, it's just an argument where hurtful words appear and make an impact. Sakura still remembered her spar with Sasuke. She beat him, yet he still couldn't look her in the eye and accept defeat. She didn't know if he was mad at her for that. She figured things will get rough since the Godaime decided to reinstate Team 7. That meant a lot more practice as a team and spending time with each other. She was definitely not ready for this and she's pretty sure Sasuke isn't ready either.

"Do you want to rest for a bit Hinata? I noticed you were working earlier when we first arrived."

Hinata nodded. "I didn't do much. What about you? Aren't you going to help your teammates?"

Sakura shook her head and looked at said teammates. "Today's my day off. I'm just making sure they're doing what they have to. Plus, I got nothing better to do." With that said, Sakura walked over to a nice shady tree and sat down with her back against the trunk.

"I see. I guess I'll join you then." Hinata walked over to the pink-haired girl and took a seat by her friend.

Yep. It was definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

The day went on as Sakura expected it to. The boys managed to get the bridge done even though all they ever did was argue. Naruto, being Naruto, did his sexy no jutsu to piss off Kiba. That actually lead to a physical fight between both boys. Sakura had to break it up and punch both of them in the face. Her punch made more of an impact than what they did to each other. It took an hour of whining and tears for her to finally heal them.

Sasuke, being Sasuke, brooded all day. Every time his idiot friend and the mutt got into a fight, he had to restrain himself from killing either one of them. The peacemaker was always Sakura. Though she stopped their fighting, it never ended well since she would unleash her wrath upon them. They deserved it anyway.

They spent most of the day wasted with the bridge that they never went back to the village to help Tazuna and Inari.

Now, as the sun was setting, everyone was going their separate ways. Shino and Kiba had already left, leaving Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata to walk back to the village without them.

As the small ninja group reached the town center of the village, it was time to split up.

"My home is this way. It was nice seeing you all today. Goodbye, Naruto-kun." Hinata turned on her heels to leave.

"Wait!" Naruto unconsciously shouted without knowing why he even did it. He had a great time with Hinata and didn't want to split up right away. She had somehow grown on him since that time with Pain. He respected her.

"What is it Naruto-kun?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and let out a nervous breath. "I-uh. I..just wanted to walk you home." A slight blush was ascending upon his face.

Hinata's face immediately darkened three shades. Her face was literally steaming. Did Naruto just offered to walk her home? She couldn't believe it.

"S-sure." She managed to muster that single word before Naruto ran to her side. Her face reddened even more. Slowly they turned away from the now remaining couple that they were oblivious to during their conversation.

Sakura let out a hearty laugh as Naruto and Hinata turned the corner. They boy next to her just stared at her with bemusement in his eyes.

"What are you laughing at?" Sasuke was curious as to why this girl was laughing for no reason at all.

Sakura's laughter finally died down before she answered. "Did you not see what just happened?" She shook her head at the Uchiha. When he raised a questioning eyebrow, she could have smacked him. "Hinata has been in love with Naruto for years. It's about time he returned her feelings." She paused and smiled wider. "I guess her efforts did pay off since she never stopped trying." Her voice had lowered at this point.

Sasuke was a bit surprised at Sakura's reaction to all of this. She was happy for two other people's lives. What about her own?

"What about you?"

Sakura turned her head to Sasuke and made eye contact. "What about me?"

"You said you loved me once before. Did you give up?"

Sakura was taken aback by his question. The smile that was on her face had faltered. She would have never expected something like that out of Sasuke's mouth. Why does he even care? Whether or not she loved him shouldn't matter. He disliked her. That fact alone pained her heart. And she now realized that she still loved him. She's been trying to tell herself that she only cared for him as a friend, but she couldn't betray her heart. Now all that's left to do is answer Sasuke's question.

"You can say I did", she whispered. It was true. She loved him but she wasn't going to attempt to win his heart or approval.

Sasuke remained silent. He didn't know if that was the answer he wanted and not knowing bothered him. A part of him always thought that Sakura would never give up, but people change and so do their feelings. He had no control over it.

The sky had darkened as the two shinobi remained still in the spot Naruto and Hinata had left them in. Neither one said a word to one another for quite a while. After a few minutes or so, Sakura was the first to speak.

"It's getting late and I'm tired. I'll see you later." Without waiting for him to say something, she started to walk into the nighttime streets. Soon enough her figure was mixed into the crowd and Sasuke couldn't see her anymore.

She was gone.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm not sure where I was trying to go with this chapter. I guess you can say it's a filler. But like I said before, I'm taking things at a slow pace. I tried to make not so serious by adding Team 8 into the picture. Naruto needs someone to argue with other than Sasuke and Kiba is the perfect match. I also had some minor NaruHina. I love them together and I will add snippets of their time together in this story as well as their relationship progresses. I hope you guys like the last scene of this chapter. I felt that Sasuke and Sakura haven't been progressing much. But some of Sasuke's thoughts are leaking out of his mind. Just a little.

Anyways please review. I love your feedback. It gives me the encouragement to write! :)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Alright! So I know I haven't updated in a super long time and I sincerely apologize. I've been busy with my last few months of school and preparing for collge, which is really expensive! Anyways, I'm on spring break and decided I should use some of my time to work on this. Here's the new chapter of Learing to Live. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: It's been a while since I did this so here it is. I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Learning to Live

Chapter 11

She was ambushed. That was the best way Sakura could describe it. Today had started out perfectly for her. Perfect meaning it was a normal day for her. She got up and went to the hospital to do her rounds. All of her patients seemed like they were in good condition or at least stable. She treated a few minor injuries here and there, and had just finished a major surgery that was successful. All in all, it was just an ordinary day for the medic.

Upon arriving at her office that day, she was attacked. She was completely caught off guard due to losing so much chakra from the previous surgery. Sakura kicked, punched, shrieked, and swore to the heavens. She did the best she could in her state of mind and strength but to no avail. She still ended up over Naruto's shoulder like a sac of rice.

Now, as he jumped over rooftops to the training grounds, Sakura didn't move or fight back. She knew this was going to eventually happen. She had been avoiding a team meeting for the past three weeks ever since Tsunade reinstated Team 7. Kakashi finally managed to put his foot down and probably ordered Naruto to retrieve her.

"Sorry about this Sakura-chan. Kakashi-sensei's orders."

She scoffed at him and crossed her arms. "You can put me down now. It's not like I'm going to run away."

"No can do, cause I'm pretty sure you'll run away." He chuckled as he leapt over another rooftop.

They had finally reached the forest. Naruto entered a familiar clearing with a large red bridge over a small stream. The blonde ninja landed on the bridge and unceremoniously dropped Sakura. The rosette let out a low growl at her idiot teammate.

Naruto laughed nervously before moving to the other side of the bridge to be clear of her wrath.

"Nice of you to join us, Sakura."

Sakura really hated her teacher right now. He was mocking her and she knew it would only get worse. The anger on her face suddenly disappeared and was replaced with an angelic smile.

"Nice to see you too, Kakashi-sensei." Her overly sweet voice rang out in the air as her four male teammates looked at her in astonishment.

Kakashi raised his brow questioningly. He knew Sakura was stubborn, but this was unbearable. Naruto was still too scared to approach her. Sasuke rolled his eyes out of annoyance. Sai just observed the scene taking place before his eyes. Is this how Team 7 used to be before he joined the group?

"You've missed practice for three weeks. I think it's time for you to train with us, don't you think?"

Sakura couldn't really come up with an argument for that. That was the true fact. She missed practice. She's been avoiding them to get out of training. She definitely didn't want to see Sasuke most of all. But she couldn't avoid them any longer. Plus, she needs the extra training. She hasn't done some heavy damage in a while and she might be just a little out of shape.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll start training." She only managed to grit those four words out before she got up on her feet.

Kakashi smiled at her. "Great! Now that we have everyone here, we can start."

The copy-nin looked at the young group in front of him. None seemed too pleased to be here, Sakura especially. He inwardly sighed thinking it was going to be a long day.

"How about we play a game." He suggested.

Naruto's ears perked at the word "game". "Oooohh, what kind of game? Is it hide and go seek?" The blonde was absolutely ecstatic.

Kakashi stared blankly at him for a moment. "Yes. You'll all be playing a game of hide and go seek."

"What?" came the high shriek from Sakura. "You dragged me all the way out here to play a child's game?"

The other two members looked at the older man with questioning gazes. The old man cannot possibly be serious. Could he?

"It's not exactly your typical hide and go seek game. There's a bit of a twist to it." He paused to look at the faces in front of him once more. They still looked confused. "I've hidden one of my Icha Icha books around the village. You have two hours to find it and return here by noon. The first person to find the book and return it to me wins. The other three will be punished. You can battle each other for the book."

"You've got to be kidding me! Why on earth would I want to look for that perverted piece of-"

"Sakura."

The pink-haired kunoichi quickly shut her mouth. Kakashi can really be intimidating when he wanted to be.

"You start...now!"

Just like that, all four members of Team 7 disappeared all at once to find their sensei's perverted book.

* * *

Sasuke was furious. How long was he going to tolerate this? He spent the past few weeks training and he still hasn't gotten any stronger. That was mostly because of his chakra seal. He's starting to hate this village all over again.

Wait. When did he started liking it? He's only been in the village for two months. One week was spent rotting in a dark jail cell under Konoha. He hated to think that he was becoming a Konoha ninja once again. He still harbored hatred for the village. And he still wanted revenge on those counselors. The Godaime better hurry up and figure things out before he decides to kill those two old bastards himself.

The stoic Uchiha spotted a flash of black that zoomed past him. That managed to snap him out of his reverie. It was that Sai person that had replaced him.

Sai was on one of his bird paintings. He looked back and saw Sasuke staring right back at him. He gave a smile that was completely empty and unemotional.

This act had Sasuke boiling. He hates that guy for some reason. He seemed fake. There was also something that was just plain creepy with him.

Focusing on Kakashi's game, Sasuke quickened his pace to catch up to Sai. He passed the emotionless boy easily and headed off in the direction he had intended to go from the very beginning. He was heading towards the hot springs. Knowing Kakashi, he would definitely hide a perverted book in a perverted place. Sasuke inwardly scowled. He hated that scarecrow.

* * *

Naruto being Naruto, went to the first place he could think of and that was Ichiraku. He even asked old man Teuchi to go in the back to look for the book. The old man refused and chased Naruto away before he had anymore crazy ideas.

The Kyubi-container muttered something about ramen and mean bastard before walking away from the small ramen bar.

"Now where could Kakashi-sensei hide that book?" Thinking out loud wasn't doing much for him. People just gave him weird looks.

Naruto kept walking while racked his brain for a place to search. Not looking where he was going, he ran into a very large person.

"Hey! Watch where you're going fat-"

He was immediately cut off once he realized who he was talking to.

"What was that Naruto?" Chouji's eyes were becoming more sinister as he looked at the blonde crouching on the ground.

"N-n-othing. I didn't say anything at all."

"It's alright Chouji. Naruto is just being his usual idiotic self."

The blonde snapped at that remark. "Hey! No one asked for your opinion Shikamaru!"

The lazy genius laughed. It was always fun picking on Naruto. Even if he's the village hero, he was still the dead last during their academy days.

"What were you doing before that made you wonder into Chouji?"

"Eh? Oh yeah! I need to find Kakashi-sensei's perverted Icha Icha book. Me, Sasuke, Sakura-chan, and Sai are supposed to play hide and go seek with it."

Shikamaru and Chouji looked at Naruto for a long time before they burst out laughing. His entire statement seemed to make no sense at all.

Once their laughter died down, Shikamaru finally spoke."That's...nice. But I don't think I can help you with that."

"Come on. Don't you have any advice for what I can do to find it?" Naruto's blue eyes increased in size as he started to pout.

"If it were me, I would take a long, relaxing bath at the hot springs to clear my mind. That always seems to work." Chouji smiled as he said this.

"I don't have time to go take a ba-". Naruto suddenly realized something. "The hot springs! Thanks Chouji. Later guys."

He soon took off to the hot springs where he was absolutely sure the book is.

* * *

Sakura looked everywhere for that stupid book. She went to the hospital, Hokage tower, the ninja academy, Kakashi's favorite bars and restaurants, but with no luck. Time was ticking away and she only had about a half hour left before her time was up. She just hoped the others didn't find it and she was just wasting her time.

She was now flying over rooftops thinking of where to search next when an explosion went off. She stopped and turned around. There was a big cloud of smoke coming from the other end of the village. Wasting no time, she decided to go check it out.

Sakura didn't know what to think when she arrived at the hot springs. The place and everything around it was a complete mess. Half naked men and women were running around screaming. Towels and robes were flung all over the place. But that wasn't what she was looking at. Instead, she was looking at Sasuke, who had a chidori shield around him. She was looking at Sai who was bleeding from the mouth. And then she looked at Naruto, who had that dirty book in his hands.

Without thinking, she flung herself at the blonde, ignoring the other two boys. Naruto didn't see Sakura come at him, so he fell face first into the hot water. Sakura grasped the book out of his hands and started towards the training grounds.

She ran as fast as possible, knowing that Sasuke would be hot on her trail. And she was right, because the Sharingan wielder was closing in on her.

A second later, Sakura felt a heavy shock coursing through her body. Her limbs felt like jelly. Her grip on the book loosened and the book fell right through her fingers. She hit the ground hard as Sasuke snatched the book up and continued to run.

Mustering every energy she had in her, she managed to get up on her feet and took off after him. There was no way she was going to lose to him.

Catching up to Sasuke was no easy task. He was fast as lightning, if not faster. But somehow, Sakura did catch up. She formed some hand signs until a chakra scalpel appeared. She managed to hit Sasuke directly in his leg and upper arm, causing him to lose his balance and falling as well as loosing the book.

Right at that moment, a blur of orange past the pair on the ground and picked up the fallen book.

Naruto laughed at them flaunted the book in the air before running towards the training grounds. "Looks like I win!"

"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed. He could barely move thanks to that pink haired kunoichi. He turned around and saw Sakura laying a few feet away from him. She looked like she was in pain.

"What did you do to my leg and arm?"

It took Sakura a while to register that Sasuke was talking to her. "Chakra scalpel. Your stupid chidori shocked me. I can barely move right now." She let out a small whimper before turning to the side away from Sasuke.

A few minutes later, Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Sasuke. He was letting some of his chidori flow into her. But this time, it took away the pain. He was numbing her.

"You should regain movement shortly." He said this to her in a calm voice.

Sakura couldn't believe it. He was helping her and actually being nice. About a minute later, her body felt fine. She was longer numb or in pain. She turned towards the stoic Uchiha. "Thanks."

"Aa."

_Typical. _Sakura thought. She healed him where she had hit him with the scalpel earlier.

They both got up and walked to the training grounds together. Upon arriving, they saw a pouting Naruto with fake tears streaming down his face. Sai was holding the Icha Icha book.

Sakura laughed at the sight. "Naruto, I thought you were winning. What happened?"

"This asshole had one of his ink animals trip me. He stole the book right out of my hands!"

The kunoichi clutched her stomach and started giggling wildly. "Serves you right."

Sasuke, who was standing beside her let out a low chuckle and caught himself before anyone else could hear. But that didn't go unnoticed by Sakura.

"Did you just laugh?"

"I don't laugh."

"But you just did."

"No, I didn't."

"You did! Oh no! The almighty powerful Uchiha Sasuke just laughed!" Sakura doubled over and started to crack up.

Sasuke growled. "Shut up, Sakura!"

"What's with all of this commotion?"

Every head snapped up to the nearest tree. Kakashi was sitting casually on one of the branches while his back was leaned against the trunk.

Sai appeared next the silver-haired man and gave him the book.

"Hmm. It looks like Sai won this time. Well done. You can go now."

Not a second later, the pale boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"As for you three, you lost the game. Ready for your punishment?"

The trio below him awaited anxiously for what he was about to say.

"You all have to go on a mission in Cloud country. It's B rank."

"That's the punishment? A mission to Cloud?" Sakura was really confused now.

"There was never a punishment. I just said that so you can find my precious book before something terrible happened to it."

Sasuke scoffed. "This really was a game to you, wasn't it?"

"Yes. But it was also training for you as well. Anyways, the three of you will be meeting with me later on at Ichiraku's for a debriefing."

He waved causally at his team before disappearing.

The three youngsters stayed still for a moment. This is going to be their first mission as a team. The last time that happened, they were genin.

"So who's up for Ichiraku?"

Naruto always had to be the first to say something.

Nodding silently, Sasuke and Sakura agreed to his request and followed the blonde back to the village.

Anxiety and excitement flowed through each of their systems as they awaited for the mission.

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A/N: A new mission? Yay! I think I might have an easier time writing the next part. Like always, please review and tell me what you think.

Also, I uploaded a new story. If you haven't read it yet, go check it out and give me some feedback! Thank youuu :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Wow! It's definitely been a while since I last updated this story. I made a promise to finish this chapter by the end of the week. And it seems like I suceeded since I finished early. I'm eager to get started on the next chapter! Well, enjoy!

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Learning to Live

Chapter 12

Sakura swatted another mosquito away from her face. Those stupid pests just wouldn't give her a break. On top of having bloodsucking creatures attack every two seconds, she was sweating like a pig which attracted the little critters. The heat was remarkably intense on this summer day. Not to mention she was trekking up a ridiculous mountain. There really should be some alternative way to get to the Village Hidden in the Clouds.

Peeking over at her two teammates, it didn't seem like Naruto or Sasuke were having a problem with the heat or the rocky terrain. She inwardly sighed and pointed a look full of envy at them. Of course they weren't affected. They have more stamina than anyone could ever imagine. She can understand Naruto. He has the demon fox inside of him. Climbing a mountain was nothing for him. Sasuke, on the other hand, was equivalent to a god. A dark, arrogant, conceited, broody god.

Sakura cleared her head of her teammates and focused on the mission at task. Kakashi had briefed them two nights ago about their mission. It seems like Cloud has been complaining about some suspicious activity taking place all over the country. The Country has done well recovering from war. Even though the world is at peace, ninjas in the Lightning Country are disappearing one by one. The Raikage decided to call for help from the Leaf Village.

Tsunade had sent some of her chunins to assess the disappearances, but not a single ninja ever came back from their missions. They were disappearing as well. Even jonins and ANBU were having a difficult time. The situation itself was quite mysterious. She warned the other nations of the disappearances so they would be ready and on guard in case something were to happen. Frustrated with losing her ninjas, Tsunade sought out one of the most powerful teams in the village. Kakashi agreed and had gathered his team. At the very last minute, Tsunade had called him for a separate mission.

She was a little nervous sending out Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on the mission alone, but soon decided it was for the best. They were each stubborn in their own way, but they know how to work as a team.

Sasuke felt relieved. His body is full of underused energy that has been sealed for nearly two months. Tsunade had removed the chakra seal the night before the mission. She felt it was only fair. He would need it for this mission.

It's strange going on a mission again. It's even more strange going on one with Naruto and Sakura. The past two days was a little unnerving. The atmosphere between the three was heavy and tense. Naruto talked as he usually would, but Sasuke felt that he was doing it to lighten the mood. Sakura was silent most of the journey. She was unusually quiet which tipped Sasuke off. It was just _weird_.

Reaching the top of the mountain, the trio came face to face with a forest. They were barely in the Lighting Country. It would take another day until they reached the Cloud Village.

The sun was already starting to set behind them. Sakura halted and faced her teammates. "We'll stop here for the night and camp out."

Naruto dropped everything and let out a heavy sigh. "Jeez! I thought you were never going to make us stop walking."

Sakura raised a questioning brow at Naruto. It seems like he doesn't have as much energy she expected.

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

Of course Naruto heard it. "What was that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde.

"Before you two jump into an argument, how about you take whatever energy you have to set up camp," Sakura scolded.

"Who died and made you boss?"

Naruto got one solid hit on his head. "Ow! I was only kidding."

Sakura didn't bother with him. "I'll go find a stream to fill our water supply. Naruto, I want you to set up camp and make a fire. Sasuke, you're in charge of food."

Without a word, she took off into the woods with three large water jugs.

The Uchiha exhaled sharply. How did he end up taking orders from the pink haired kunoichi? Wordlessly, he entered the forest following after her.

"Hey! Are you two seriously going to leave me to set up alone?" Naruto grumbled and kicked his backpack. Stupid Kakashi had to leave Sakura in charge.

Sasuke rolled his eyes after listening to Naruto's overly dramatic cry. Dismissing the blonde's habit, he turned his attention the tree branches he was hopping on. He broke free of the green leaves around him and landed on a rock near the edge of a small stream. Not a second later after he landed, a shuriken came hurling in his direction. Surprised by the weapon aimed at him, he clumsily dodged the projectile and fell into the small stream.

This _small _stream was deeper than he expected. When he fell in, he didn't think he would go far. Kicking his feet, he swam to the surface of the water. As soon as his head broke the surface, he could hear a big fit of giggles. Turning around completely, Sasuke saw Sakura trying to hold back her laughter. The water canteens she had earlier were dropped on the floor, spilling all of its contents.

Sasuke assumed the shuriken hurled at him previously was from her. He narrowed his eyes and pointed a full on glare at the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She bent over and clutched her knees while laughter erupted from her.

She didn't realize the shuriken she threw was at Sasuke. She thought an enemy had appeared. Watching the almighty Uchiha stumble and fall into the stream was pretty darn hilarious to her. So much for being graceful.

"Sorry, Sasuke," Sakura said once got over her laughing fit. "I thought you were an enemy."

Sasuke made his way out of the water and proceeded to intensify his glare at the medic.

Sakura rolled her eyes and decided to ignore his glare, which wasn't working on her. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Sasuke walked over to the rock he had initially landed on. He hopped on and sat down trying to dry off. He was pissed that Sakura could just laugh. She didn't even seem upset that he was upset. Talk about major personality change. She used to cry about everything. Dealing with this older Sakura seemed to be more frustrating and annoying.

"I figured if you were going to find water, then there must be fish around."

Sakura was surprised that he even bothered to answer. Now she felt bad about laughing. Sasuke isn't the joking type, so he wouldn't know where she's coming from. Why does she love him again? She doesn't even know the answer herself.

Dealing with Sasuke is becoming harder and harder each day. She has no clue how to act around him or what to say. Sasuke doesn't talk much. So any semblance of a conversation they could have is out the window before it could start. Plus he always looks too serious. Something his always bothering him, but Sakura can never figure it out. He's just a complicated soul she has to put up with.

"I'm really sorry, Sasuke. I didn't mean to laugh."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura and saw that she was no longer carefree. All of her humor is completely sucked out of her and she looks sullen.

He knit his brows in confusion. Sakura always seemed depressed around him. Somewhere deep inside of him, he had a feeling it was because of him. This tiny amount of knowledge frustrated him more. Ignoring his strange thoughts, he watched as his female teammate picked up the fallen canteens and refilled them.

She could feel Sasuke's eyes on her. It was a little unnerving, but she tried her best to ignore moved precisely and easily at the same time. She was completely focused at the task at hand, even if it was something small as filling up water. Her hair was blowing gently in the soft summer breeze. Her face was calm. A small drop of sweat ran down her cheek from the corner of her eyebrow. Sakura finished filling up the last of the canteens. She inwardly sighed and stood up, facing away from Sasuke.

This heat was killing her. She wiped the sweat away from her face. Suddenly and idea struck her. She might regret it, but it's all she could do to lighten the mood. She turned around and saw that Sasuke was tossing kunai knives across the stream every time a fish jumped out of the water. So far, he already caught two fishes that were pinned to a tree opposite of him. He didn't even bother to turn around when Sakura started walking towards him.

Sakura climbed up on the rock that Sasuke was on and stood directly behind him.

Sasuke was a little nervous. The rock wasn't that big and he felt uncomfortable at their proximity. What is going through Sakura's mind?

"Ne, Sasuke. You've been a little grumpy lately. Is something wrong?"

He didn't expect that to come out of her mouth. "Sorry, Dr. Haruno. I didn't realize this was therapy session."

Sakura stuck her tongue out of her mouth knowing he couldn't see her. Such a little prick. Her expression immediately changed as a smile appeared on her face.

"I wasn't even thinking about therapy. But maybe you should cool off a little." Before she could give Sasuke a chance to say anything, she pushed him into the stream once more. Not wasting a second, she jumped into the cool water beside him. They both surfaced at the same time.

"Sakura!" Sasuke growled her name like it was a sign of the plague.

All he could hear, however, was her uncontrollable giggles as she swam next to him. "Oh come on, Sasuke. Don't deny that this doesn't feel good." With that said, she splashed a little water in his face and laughed.

Sasuke didn't know what to say or think or how to react. After what seemed like forever, he allowed for the scowl on his face to melt and turn into a smirk.

He swam to the edge of the water and climbed out. "Are you ever going to let me catch our dinner?"

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and smiled in response. She didn't fail to notice the smirk on Sasuke's face. It seems like her little plan worked, after all.

She knew that loving Sasuke was going to be hard. She knew that he would hurt her. She knew that he would never want anything more. She also knew that if she can't be with Sasuke, she could at least become his friend. At the moment, that's what he needs. He needs to get his head out of the past and look forward to a better future. Sakura knew she didn't make that easy for him when he returned or when she ignored him. It was time for a change. She's going to start treating Sasuke as a friend rather than the boy that broke her heart and tried to kill her.

Catching his last fish, Sasuke gathered the other two on a stick and turned towards Sakura. "We should probably head back before Naruto burns our camp site."

"I doubt he even got a fire going. He's been working on it for years without any luck."

Sasuke smirked as they headed into the forest once again. They took the grounds this time around. The atmosphere between them seemed calmer than it had been in a long time.

Arriving back at their camp, Sakura's prediction was proven true. Naruto was desperately trying to create a fire with many failed outcomes.

"Tch. Dobe."

Naruto snapped his head up to glare at Sasuke. He paused as he saw the condition both of his teammates were in. Sasuke and Sakura were soaked to the bone, dripping water everywhere. Sasuke seemed more relaxed as he held the stick with the fish on them.

What on earth happened to his those two? No wonder they were gone so long.

"Naruto, how did you ever manage to get out of the Academy if you can't make a fire?"

Naruto was distracted from his thoughts as Sakura's voice rang through his ears. He nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

Sasuke performed a fireball jutsu to start a fire. He placed each fish into the fire to cook.

Everyone gathered around the fire and awaited their food to be cooked.

Naruto glanced back and forth between his teammates. They were both silent, but it didn't seem hostile like their earlier journey. It was calmer. Naruto's clear blue eyes narrowed in pure suspicion. What exactly happened between these two?

Sakura was satisfied. She sat a little closer to the fire to dry off. Her thoughts were filled with her and Sasuke's water encounter. She was glad to get rid of the tense air around them. Maybe Sasuke is happy too? Who knows? She glanced at him across the fire and caught his eye for a brief moment. They were dark and filled with mystery. Tearing her eyes away, she focused on the food that was cooking.

Maybe this wasn't going to be a bad mission after all.

Right as those thoughts crossed her mind, a kunai whipped past her face, leaving a small scratch on her cheek. Naruto and Sasuke watched in shocked expressions as bright red blood ran down her cheek.

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**A/N: **Yeah...well you can hate me if you want for ending it like this. But, it seems more fun for me. Hahah.

And this is kinda off topic, but did anyone read the latest manga chapter? I was completely baffled! I was overcome by raw emotions that I actually started crying! It was such a heartfelt moment. I'm so glad the truth finally came out!

If you haven't read the chapter, then please ignore my little rant. Anyways, please review and leave your thoughts. Also, if you have questions you would like to ask me about the story or myself, please feel free to PM me. I would be happy to answer any questions. :)


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